A Predestined Life
by SiennaRaven87
Summary: what i think it was really like for rogue to be raised by a terrorist, join a fanatic vigilante group, and fall in love with a thief who is part of an international crime family...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own marvel or these characters...

Chapter One

Smalltown, Georgia

May 1991

The ominous black car with deep purple tinted windows slowly made its way on the one lane dirt road in the deep Georgia backwoods.

Rusted out trailers decorated with car parts, beer cans, and un-mowed lawns lined the side of the road. The woman driving the car

looked at the scenery around her in disgust, she was above this, the child she was searching for was above this, or so was

prophesized by the blind woman sitting in the passenger seat next to her.

"Are you sure this where the child lives Irene"? asked the woman driving.

"Yes Raven", Irene answered, "Just because a person is meant for greatness doesn't mean they can't be born to humble surroundings".

Raven rolled her yellow glowing eyes, "Which one does the girl live in"? Raven asked.

"Number 21, I do believe it's the neon purple one up ahead", Irene answered with an amused smile on her lips.

Raven looked appalled, "Your kidding right"?

Irene laughed, "No Im not", oh how she wished she could see the look on Ravens pretty blue face. Raven was infact staring opened

mouth at the hideous sight before her.

_Neon Purple? _Raven thought, _Now I don't feel so bad about taking the girl away._

"Raven dear", Irene called pulling Raven out of her thoughts and looking over to her partner.

"Yes Irene"

"Would you mind not hitting that little boy"?

"What"?, Raven looked around not seeing anything, then looked back to Irene. Irene just smiled and lifted up her hand with three

fingers pointed up and started to count down.

"In one", one finger down, "Two", another finger down, "Three", she pointed towards the road. Raven looked in the direction of Irene's

pointed finger and only had a second to pound the break as a dirty barefooted little boy bounded across the road completely

oblivious to the world around him.

"Stupid kid"! Raven shouted, "Damn it Irene it's like your not even blind"

"Well Raven just because I can't see doesn't mean that I can't see and you of all people should now that by now"

"Sorry" Raven tried to interrupt but Irene wasn't done yet.

"And right now what I see is a neon purple trailer holding a little girl that will one day become one of the most powerful mutants in the

world, a mutant who could save or destroy us when the time comes, a mutant who we must mold and train to fight and protect all of us

mutants in the race for survival when He comes and the war starts, so take that snub off your face and do your job"!

"Yes dear" Raven replied with clenched teeth.

She parked the car two trailers down from number 21 and turned to Irene, "So what exactly am I up against here"?

Irene touched a finger to her head and scrunched her eyebrows together trying to bring up the images that came to her in a dream not

but to days ago that had brought her and her partner on this little adventure.

"The fathers name is Owen, 23 years old, works at the tire plant.... a drunk" Irene said the last with a smile, "He shouldn't be a problem

for you".

"Good" Said Raven, who picked up a duffle bag at Irene's feet and started searching through it, "And the mother"?

"The mothers name is Priscilla, she dropped out of high school when she was 17 when she became pregnant with our girl and now she

works as a part time stripper at the local club" Irene said waggling her brows at Raven.

"For christ sakes, could this be any more stereotypical, this child should thank us for what were about to do"! Raven said.

"At any rate", said Irene, "We should get this done and over with, we have a long drive ahead of us and I would prefer to do it in the dark

seeing as we'll have a kidnapped child with us".

"Fine", Raven pulled out her gun and silencer from the duffle bag and roll of duct tape, and placed both strategically in her suit jacket. She then

shifted into human form, milky white skin, black hair and blue eyes, then exited the car. She flipped her hair back and smoothed down her

pencil skirt then leaned into the opened driver's side window. "How do I look"? She asked Irene, knowing full well she couldn't see her.

Irene just turned her head to Raven and smiled, "Like a professional darling", she answered.

"Thank you sweetie" Raven said blowing a kiss to Irene before turning and walking up to the neon purple monstrosity. She gave the flimsy door

three sharp knocks and waited. A man opened the door and Raven had to bite her cheek to not laugh at the sorry sight before her. He was tall

and stocky with shoulder length auburn hair that probably hadn't been combed in days, his jeans had holes in every which way and his white wife beater was covered in black oil stains, and his dull green eyes were rimmed red where the white should have been.

_Drunk already_, Raven mused to herself, _This is toooo easy_

He looked Raven over with appreciation, "Can Ah help ya ma'am" he asked

Raven gave him a sneer, "Yes, my name is Ms. Darkholme, Im here for Child Protective Services, are you Owen"?

Owen looked surprised, "Yes ma'am ah am, whats this all bout, ah aint done nothin wrong".

"Look I just need to ask you and your wife a few questions and then I'll be out of your way ok".

Owen started to get angry and replied, "Listen ma'am ah now my rights, and ah know that me and my wife aint done nothin wrong

with Anna, so why dont ya get the hell off my property"!

Raven just smiled, "Well I had hoped that I wouldn't have to do it this way but, oh well" she said with a shrug.

Owen was outraged, "Wait a minute, come to what, what the hell are....", Quick as a whip Raven had the gun pointed at Owens head stopping him

mid sentence.

"Step into the house sir" Raven demanded, Owen backed up into the dark living room of the trailer, hands held up and fear in his eyes. Raven

stepped inside and kicked the door closed behind her.

"Look Im going to take your daughter away from you, she's going to be a powerful woman someday, and you are an unworthy piece of shit, so sorry"

she said with a shrug.

"O..o...ok fine take her just please leave me alone, ah didn do anythin to ya, please"!

Raven sneered, "Fucking coward" she said to him, "Well I guess I did forget to mention the part were I have to kill you because you've seen me"

"Wait! Noooo, please dont do this, Ah'll do anythin you wa...." Owen barely had time to swallow his fear before Raven pulled the trigger and his

world went black. Raven kicked Owens lifeless body in disgust, "Useless human", she whispered. She looked around the rest of the trailer but

the place was empty.

_Just fucking great, _she thought.

She walked back to the living room, and noticed the half drunkin glass of whiskey on the coffee table.

_If you could call it that, more like plywood on two cinder blocks_

Raven sat on the ancient puke green 70's couch covered in stains and picked up the glass bringing it to her nose and took a whiff of the sharp aroma.

_Cheap bastard, of course I find the drunk who doesn't know how drink properly, oh well..._

She brought the glass to her lips and chugged the remaining whiskey in one gulp and shivered bitterly. She looked at her watch and noted that it was

an hour to sundown.

_Those two better get here soon or Irene's gonna have me sleeping on the couch, _she thought bitterly as she plopped her high heeled feet on the

"coffee table".

_May as well get comfortable, _she mused as she poured herself another drink.

"Cheers" she said lifting her glass in a salute to the body on the floor. Half an hour later she heard muttering outside the door and the door knob

starting to turn.

_Finally_

Raven shifted into her mutant form in all her blue glory

_May as well give them a nice surprise_

She pulled her gun out and pointed it to the door, the room was pitch black by this time so Raven could clearly make out the form of a woman holding

a child coming through the door. "Owen sugah ya home", the woman called out as she fumbled around for the light switch.

"Maybe he's asleep already mamma" said the little girl.

"Ya probably right darlin" the woman said in worn tone. "Got it" she said triumphantly as she turned on the light switch, " What the...", she gasped

at the sight before her, a tall blue woman with glowing eyes and gun pointed at her and her husband on the floor a pool of blood around his head.

She clutched her daughter closer to her chest, "What are you, what happened h..h..here" she demanded frightend.

"Im here to take your daughter" Raven said nonchalantly as she sized up the woman before her. Priscilla was beautiful, long curly blonde hair, curves

in all the right places that were accentuated by her tight black leather pants and white belly shirt with the oh so obvious black bra underneath.

_Classy_, Raven laughed to herself.

Priscilla started backing towards the door, "Just stay away from us you....you monster"!, she yelled as the little girl tried to hide in her mothers

arms whimpering.

"Sorry missy, can't do that", Raven said with an evil smile on her face, "Im going to kill you and Im going to take your daughter and that's all there

is to it"

"Please don't, p..please don't hurt us, please..." but it was too late, Raven pulled the trigger and Priscilla fell to the floor, eyes wide with fear and her daughter

still in her arms. Anna pulled herself out from her mother's slack grasp and looked at the blood soaked hole in the middle of her forehead. "Mama" she whispered, shaking her fallen mothers body, "Mamma, wake up"! Anna yelled and she looked at the blue woman in fright and shaking her mother

even harder, "Mamma please don let her take me, please wake up"! the tears were flowing freely from the little girl's eyes now. Raven came and knelt

before the child and looked at her fully for the first time, she was small and skinny with messy auburn hair and a white stripe in the front and bright

emerald green eyes that were shimmering with tears.

"Sorry" Raven said, "But this is for your own good", she pulled out the roll of duct tape from her jacket, "Hopefully you'll see that one day", she grabbed

the girl and wouned the tape around her mouth and head three times before doing the same to her wrists and ankles, "Your a very special girl", she

continued, "And Im going to train you how to use your gifts to help save our kind". The little girl just shook her head, not really understanding anything

that was going on around her or what the scary blue lady was trying to tell her, all she could do was give out muffled cries from behind the tape.

"Im your new family now, Im going to take care of you so just don't be afraid ok" Raven said exasperated, talking to children wasn't one of her

strong points.

Anna sat bound next to her mother's dead body, tears wracking her own small form as Raven removed the silencer from the gun and placing it in her

jacket, then pulled out a cloth and removed her hand prints from the weapon and placed it into Priscilla's lifeless hand.

Raven looked over to the little girl, "Your coming with me now, so don't fight me ok, it's happening whether you like it or not" she said.

She lifted the scared little girl in her arms and headed towards the door, the last thing Anna saw of her home was her parents laying in there own

blood, before Raven turned off the lights and walked out of the trailer closing the door silently behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own marvel or these characters….

Chapter Two

Highway US-84

May 1991

She had been staring out the window for almost three hours now. The tape had been pulled off her mouth and the bindings on her wrist and ankles were

removed. She had stopped crying when they passed the Alabama state sign, tears would get her no where but a stuffy nose and headache, she was

never gonna see home again, her parents were gone, and these two strange women were acting as though these traumatic events of only afew hours

ago had never happened. She curled herself up towards her window in the backseat, pressing her forehead on the cold pane of glass and her bloodshot

eyes took in the dark scenery, nothing but empty highway and low hanging trees, a very eerie sight to a child.

"It's ok to go to sleep little one", Irene said, "I know you've had an exhausting day".

Anna glared at the back of the blind woman's head but said nothing, she was exhausted, she felt completely drained of energy and mentally numb.

"I told you that were not going to hurt you so get some rest already" the blue one said while glaring coldly at her in the rearview mirror.

Anna nodded her head in response then replaced it on the cold window, she was sure that these women weren't going to hurt her, so she closed

her bloodshot eyes and let sleep take her little worn out body.

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She awoke with the sun soaked window warming her face and the smell of delicious greasy food assaulting her nose.

"Are you awake dear"? Irene asked her.

Anna jolted up straight in her seat looking around her surroundings confusedly

_Oh yea, _she thought, _so it wasn't a weird dream... shoot_

Irene turned in her seat and faced Anna's direction with a warm smile.

"Here you go little one" ,she said, "Orange juice and a chicken biscuit, I hope you like it"

She handed Anna the cup and greasy bag, Anna grabbed for it greedily and was stuffing her little mouth when she managed to squeak out

a little "thank you" to Irene.

"Where are we", she asked after swallowing another mouth full.

"Mississippi", Irene said, "Just outside of Natchez, were almost home".

Anna nodded her head then looked out her window continuing to eat.

"You'll really like it here Anna", Raven said, "We have a nice big house right on the river, you'll have you own room and you can decorate

however you want".

"I liked my old room", Anna said softly.

Raven glared at her through the rearview mirror again, "Well you can learn to like your new one", she said coldly.

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A short time later they pulled on to a little dirt driveway and Anna stared opened mouth at what would be her new home. A two story old plantation

style home, with an upper story wrap around deck, white washed with green shudders, a far cry from her humble beginnings.

"This is where ya'll live"? she asked.

"Yes little one", Irene said, "This is our home".

The car came to a stop, Raven got out and opened Anna's door taking the little girls hand firmly in hers, and started walking her towards the house.

"Are ya'll rich or somthin"? Anna asked.

"Yes", Irene said walking up beside them, "Raven's job keeps us quite comfortable".

"What d'ya do"? Anna asked looking up at Raven.

"Don't worry about it", was Raven's sharp reply. Anna put her head down at the sharp words, and Irene gave Raven's shoulder a little push, Raven

looked at Irene who was giving her a "Be Nice or Else" face.

Raven sighed, "Would you like me to show you around"?, she asked Anna more gently. Anna replied with a soft "yes".

"Please speak up girl", Raven scolded, "You'll be living with us now so there's no need to be meek, got it"!

Irene gave Raven another push, "Raven please", she scolded, "Be gentle with our little one, this is all very new for her".

"Fine", Raven gritted out. She unlocked the door and Anna stepped into her new "home".

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The house was well lit with sunlight and bright white walls, dark hardwood floors gave the home a very old fashioned look along with the old time

country decorations, lots of red, white and blue everywhere. The rooms were spacious yet cozy feeling, you could definitely tell that only women

lived in the home. The two said women were leading Anna upstairs to show her where her room would be. The upstairs had four doors in the open

hallway, three of the bedrooms. Anna was led to the last door on the right. Raven opened the door and the three stepped inside, the only furnishings

in the room were a bed and a night stand, both dark hardwood.

"When you decide what you want to do with the place we will take you out shopping" Irene said.

"Thanks", Anna replied.

"So listen", Raven said, "You'll be staying in your room until I know that you won't try to runaway or bring the authorities here".

Anna gave a shocked look, "Ya mean ah have to stay in here all the time"!

Raven raised her hand to stop the child from continuing, "Just until you come to realize that me and Irene are your family, or when you simply

refer to me as mother, it's up to you".

"But your not my..." Anna was cut off by Raven.

"Now see, I think afew weeks in this room will change your opinion".

"But ah..." Anna looked to Irene for help.

"Sorry little one" ,Irene said, "She's right, you'll have to remain in here until you fully accept us as your family, when we know we can trust you".

Anna's eyes started to water, "Ya'll will never be mah family, ah don care how long ya keep me in here"!, then she turned to look at Raven,

"Ya never be my momma, ya... ya... witch"! ,she yelled lifting her chin up stubbornly.

Raven glared at the child, "Yes, well I expect that if you ever want to feel the light of day again you'll be changing your mind". With that warning

both women left Anna in her room, quietly locking the door behind them.

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**sorry about not updating sooner but I was on a sorta-vacation for the past two weeks**

**these chapters will be coming out alot faster now.......**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own marvel or these characters….

Chapter Three

Mississippi

June 1991

Anna was laying in her bed staring up at the ceiling, she had been locked in her room for over a week now, her meals were brought to her and she was

escorted to the bathroom. Her window looked out into the backyard and the mighty Mississippi River, she liked watching the boats go by and every

now and then a group of kids would play and splash on the river bank and she could wave and laugh at them. Raven had put a lamp in her room and

brought her crayons and paper to occupy her time with, her masterpieces littered her entire floor. She missed her parents, she especially missed

hearing her mother's voice whispering lullaby's in her ear before bed. She missed her school and her friends, she wondered if they missed her at all.

She missed her stuffed animals, she had nothing to cuddle with in her bare room. Now the sun was starting to set after another long day of doing

nothing, she watched the shadows dance across the ceiling that the sun reflected of the river. She heard a soft knock on the door.

"Anna! Dinner!" Irene called from behind the door.

"Come in" Anna said not getting up from her bed.

"Hello little one" ,Irene said, "How are you this evening"?

Anna shrugged her shoulders still staring at the ceiling.

"Where having Chinese take-out tonight" ,Irene said merrily, "Ravens gone out of town for awhile so I'm afraid it's take-out until she gets back".

Anna sat up straight in bed, "Where'd she go"?

"She has business out of state, D.C. I believe".

"When does she get back"?

"Two weeks at the least honey".

_Nooooooo, please tell me I wont be stuck in here that long!_

"Does that mean I'm stuck in here for another two weeks"? Anna asked quietly.

"I'm afraid so little one", Irene replied sympathetically. Irene handed Anna her food then said, "Well since Ravens not here I was wondering if you

would like to talk"?

_To you? Not really ....... but I've been so lonely.... ok ..... sure......._

"Sure", Anna said opening up her food and taking a healthy bite.

Irene sat down on the edge of Anna's bed and started picking at her own food.

"So Anna, how old are you"?

_Gosh I've been here two weeks and they don't know how old I am .... and they wanna be my parents.... pah-lees....._

"Ah'm six" ,Anna said, "How old are you"?

"Oh honey, once you become my age that becomes an inappropriate question to ask" Irene said with a laugh.

"Oh ok" Anna replied not getting the joke.

"When you're my age you'll understand" Irene said thoughtfully.

"Do you know was gonna happen to me when ah'm your age"? Anna asked skeptically.

"Excuse me", Irene asked shocked.

"Ms. Raven said somethin about me bein important or somethin when ah get older, so ah was just wonderin if ya know was gonna happen to me"?

Anna asked curiously.

Irene turned in Anna's direction and smiled at the young girl calmly, "Yes I do", she answered.

"So was gonna happen to me"?

Irene raised an eyebrow to the child's question, "Do you really want to know", she asked Anna in a dead serious tone.

"M..m..maybe", Anna replied not so sure anymore.

"Well how about this, you ask me something you maybe want to know and I'll try to answer in a way you'd like to hear it... deal"?

"Ok", Anna answered still unsure about what she was getting into, "Ummmm will ah be pretty"?

"Like a movie star" Irene answered honestly.

Anna smiled liking that answer, "Ok what will ah be when ah grow up"?

"A super hero", Irene said with a smile, this answer made Anna giggle out loud, the child obviously thought this was just a game.

"Ooookay, will ah get married"? Anna asked with a shy smile.

"Of course", Irene said, "And to a prince no less".

"Now you're just messin with me aint ya"! Anna giggled happily.

"You'll just have to wait and see then wont you" Irene said standing up, "As for now, it's time for bed".

Anna handed Irene her empty take-out box and slid under her blanket.

"Sweet dreams little one" ,Irene said as she left the room.

"Sweet dreams Irene"! Anna yelled out from her bed, snuggling into her blanket and falling asleep peacefully for the first time in weeks.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own marvel or these characters…..

Chapter Four

Mississippi

July 1991

_Finally_, was Raven's only thought as she walked through the front door to her home. She had been away for a month in D.C., her position as

Deputy Director of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency for the United States Department of Defense was a hectic job, but it was

a way to keep an eye on the goings on of the government and gave her access to secret military information and the going ons of the ever

present thorn up her ass S.H.I.E.L.D. She was also on the forefront of mutant relations, more mutants were coming out of every corner of the

world, and even more getting into trouble, which of course was stirring up hysteria in the media, things were getting bad and bound to get alot

worse. She kicked the door behind her and dropped her travel bag on the floor.

"Irene we need to talk"! she yelled into the quiet house.

"In the sitting room dear", she heard Irene's sweet voice call back.

She walked into the well lit sitting room, Irene was sitting on the sofa writing in her diaries, it was always eerie to watch her do so, she never

looked at the page she was writing on, not that she could see it anyway, but would stare off into the distance, and let her hand go on its own

as if possessed.

"How's the girl", Raven asked.

"I think she's coming around" ,Irene answered, "Poor thing needs to get out of that room, I think you should go talk to her".

"I will soon" Raven said taking a seat next to Irene, "I need to speak to you first though".

"So you said before", Irene said setting down her diary and taking Raven's hand in hers, "What's troubling you dear"?

"Things are getting bad for our kind" ,Raven said with a sigh, "Any stir of trouble and we're imprisoned without trial, while even more of us are

simply disappearing, Im sure for some government experiment programs... I think it's time we started that Brotherhood you were telling me about".

Irene just smiled at her lovingly, "Whatever you think is best darling".

"You know a straight answer would be nice every now and then" ,Raven said exasperated.

"Now what would be the fun in that" Irene said with a small laugh.

"This isn't exactly fun Irene, why can't you just tell me what's to come".

"Because the future as I see it can not be tampered with, you won't like all the outcomes and I don't want you causing a muck of the future trying

to change it to suit your own needs... which I know you would if you know what's to come".

"Whatever, should I start this Brotherhood or not"? Raven said defeated.

"I think that the time seems right".

"Good... ok, lets do this" Raven said, then stood up and headed upstairs.

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Anna was staring out her window when she heard the knock on her door.

"Come in" , she called.

Raven stepped in the room, "Hello Anna, how have you been"?

Anna whipped her head in the direction of the voice, "Hi", was her week response.

"Irene says that you've been behaving yourself"?

"Yes ma'am" ,Anna said standing to attention at the blue woman before her, "Ah like Ms. Irene, she's real nice".

"Well that's good" ,Raven said then cleared her throat, "I was wondering if you would like to join us for dinner"?

"Ya mean like downstairs", Anna asked anxiously.

"Yes child" ,Raven said exasperated, "I mean downstairs".

Anna beamed a beautiful smile, "Oh yea Ah would love to"!

"Good" ,Raven said then tilted her head in the direction of the door, "Come on".

Anna was out the door and bounding down the stairs before Raven had a chance to blink.

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Anna ate happily at the dinning room table, even if it was Chinese take-out again. She was enjoying all the scenery around her, even if she had seen it

briefly before, but after a month and a half in her room everything was so deliciously new again, even the air seemed sweeter then before.

"So Anna" ,Raven said, "Have you decided what you want to do with you're room"?

Anna gulped nervously but decided it was best to answer Raven cheerfully, "Ah really like cowgirls an western stuff".

Raven smiled, "Ok, cowgirls it is".

"Thank ya miss Raven" ,Anna said obediently.

"Yes well" ,Raven said transforming into her human form, "Would you like to come on a walk with me and Irene"?

"Oh yes please"! Anna said excitedly.

"Good, well go wash your hands while I help Irene clean up" ,Raven said standing up.

"Yes ma'am" ,Anna said then rushed to the bathroom.

Irene smiled up at Raven, "What's gotten into you dear"?

Raven helped Irene stand up and kissed the back of her hand before handing Irene her walking cane.

"Just trying to show a little motherly affection is all". Irene gave a sweet smile to Raven who in turn rolled her eyes, "Just.. don't.. say.. anything" , Raven

said feeling a bit embarrassed at showing soft emotions.

Irene just shrugged her shoulders, "Of course dear, my lips are sealed".

"Anna are you ready child"! Raven called out.

"Am ready"! yelled Anna as she ran back into the dinning room, then grabbed Raven's hand pulling her towards the backdoor, "Come on les go"!

the little girl said excitedly.

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They walked lazily on the river bank, Irene and Raven holding hands while Anna walked ahead her face upturned to the sun in the late summer sky, she

was basking in it's long forgotten rays. Anna spotted the children playing in the river and turned to Raven giving her a longing look.

"Miss Raven can ah please" ,Anna asked giving her best puppy dog eyes.

Raven looked ahead to the group of rowdy children, "I don't think..", she was cut off by Irene's elbow hitting her chest, "Ouch... yes ok fine.... just stay

in my sight ok".

"Ah will ah promise" ,Anna said then ran off towards the children, "Hey", she yelled out to them waving her little hand to get their attention.

A little blonde boy came out of the water to greet her, "Hey it's the girl in the window", he called out to her.

Anna stopped in front of him and extended her hand out to him, "Ahm Anna" she said.

The boy took her hand, "Ahm Cody" ,he said, "Do ya swim"?

"Yea" Anna said excitedly.

"Good" said Cody, then he threw her in the water and jumped in after her.

Down the river bank Irene turned in the direction of the splashing and giggling children, "I think she's going to like it here", she said to Raven.

Raven just smiled and rolled her eyes.

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**I know it's hard to read with all the lines scrunched up but I honestly don't know how to fix it, sorry...... :(**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own marvel , these characters, or Ford automotives…..**

Chapter Five

Mississippi

May 1993

Raven and Irene sat at the kitchen table quietly drinking coffee together, it was mid day and the sun shone brightly through the kitchen window. Raven had

just gotten back from another long stay in D.C. and now she was putting on the finishing touches to her other project. It had taken her two long years

to get this Brotherhood together, keeping up appearances in D.C. and then globe trotting around the world looking for mutants willing to join her cause

had taken a lot longer then expected. The renovations on the boarding house she bought outside of town for her Brotherhood members had taken nearly

just as long. She had bought an auto repair garage near the boarding home as a cover business for her mutants to work at, a way for them to make money

while they trained and ran missions for her, it was a complete dump but it would do, she had already done a few jobs herself so she knew that business

would be good, and aside from that the tools and parts in the garage would be used for other useful things such as weapons building. She was running

this operation under the name Mystique, she told all her members to get codenames to protect them from the authorities and the government, they

would all be here within a day or two, all young 20's something mutants with nothing left to loose in a world that has cast them out for simply being

different, just like herself, and they were willing to fight with her for mutant freedom.

Raven set down her coffee mug and put her hand on Irene's that was laying on the table, "So it's all done" ,Raven said, "Come next week we'll be training

this group of mutants to take down any organization that tries to bring us down".

"From what you told me most of these people are already well trained" Irene said.

"Still this kind of work is a lot different then just sword fighting and gun slinging, we need to train them on highly organized operations to take down these

Anti-mutant organizations" Raven said with a sigh.

"And what about Anna" Irene asked.

"I'm pulling her out of school, I want her training to begin immediately, she needs to be the ultimate weapon before her powers manifest" ,Raven said letting

go of Irene's hand and picking up her coffee mug again, "We'll teach her the things she really needs to know" , she said assuredly.

"And how exactly are you going to explain all this to an eight year old little girl" Irene said picking up her own mug, "She's used to being in school with

her friends and now she's going to be thrust into the world of mutant freedom fighting, I don't see her taking it to well".

"Yea about that" Raven said seriously, "I think you should be the one to tell her, she takes your word very seriously since she knows you can see

into the future".

Irene felt like banging her head on the table, but of course kept her calm appearance and just smiled at Raven, "Of course dear, I'll talk to her tonight".

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Anna was running along the river bank, adrenalin pumping through her system making her little legs go as fast as they could, dodging low laying

branches and jumping over anything that looked like a snake. The sun was setting causing the river to glow like gold and casting shadows everywhere.

"Am gonna git ya Anna, there is no escape"! yelled the person chasing her.

_Shoot he's right behind me I gotta find somewhere to hide....... oh good a big tree!_

Anna ran behind the big willow tree on the rivers edge and cursed when she sank knee deep into mud, she could hear the running footsteps getting closer.

She tried moving her legs but the mud just sucked her in deeper with each movement.

_Damn I aint gonna be able to get away ... Im stuck bad...._

The footsteps stopped on the other side of the tree, Anna tried jerking her legs out of the mud again but only managed to fall flat on her butt and

splattering mud all over herself.

"Ah got ya"! ,Yelled Cody jumping out in front of her, "What the.... hahahahahahahaha" ,He doubled over with laughter at the sight before him.

"It aint funny Cody, Ahm gonna be in soooo much trouble if in Ah come home dirty again"! Anna yelled angrily.

"Ok.. ok... ok" ,said Cody straightening up and trying to catch his breath, "Hear let me help ya outta there". Cody bent down and started helping Anna

dig her legs out of the sticky mud, he pulled out and helped her up then gave her a once over, "Yea Ah think ya should wash off in the river before ya

go home" , he said.

Anna looked down at herself and then back up at Cody with a smile, "Yea ya probly right" ,she said with a giggle. She pulled off her muddy shoes and

waded out into the water, taking her time to wash off any speck of mud she could find and dunking her head under afew times. She rinsed out her

shoes then made her way back up to shore and next to Cody, "So ya still comin over for dinner tonight" , she asked him, putting her shoes back on.

"Yea, Ah already asked my momma so it's cool" he said.

"Good" ,said Anna as they made there way to her house, "Hey race ya there" ,said Anna with mischief in her eyes.

"Oh yer so on" said Cody, and the children started to run to the house.

When the house was insight Cody stopped in his tracks when he saw who was on the back porch.

"Anna dinners ready, hurry up child"! yelled Raven when she spotted the children. Anna stopped running also and looked back at Cody.

"Whas wrong"? she asked him.

"Ya didnt say ya momma was here" he replied looking at the woman on the back porch with just a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Ah didn know, Ah guess she just got back in town, why"? Anna asked.

"Yea, sorry Anna but Ah think Ah'll just come over some otha time" Cody said sheepishly.

"What...why"? Anna asked confused and alittle hurt that her best friend was ditching her.

"Because ya momma scares the hell outta me ..... so bye" said Cody and then he ran off as quick as he could.

"Coward"! Anna yelled angrily to his retreating back.

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Later that night Anna was standing in front of her vanity mirror brushing her still damp hair, she had taken one of the longest showers of her life to get

off the remaining mud and river water left on her from earlier that day, when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in"! she called out.

Irene opened the door half way and popped her head in, "Anna dear, may I have a talk with you"? she asked.

"Sure, what is it Auntie Irene"? Anna asked then took a seat on her bed.

Irene entered the room and shut the door behind her, she held a little white box the size of a paper-back book in her hand, then she sat on the bed

next to Anna and placed the box in her lap.

"Well dear, there's going to be a lot of changes going on around here soon, so I thought you and I could have a talk about everything that's about to happen"

said Irene giving Anna a warm smile.

"Um ok, so whas goin on" asked Anna.

"You of course know that me and Raven are different from other people"? Irene asked, Anna nodded her head yes.

"Right, were called mutants and right now there are a lot of bad things happening to our kind" Irene said.

"What kinda bad things Auntie Irene" Anna asked with sadness in her voice.

"Horrible things my dear, kidnappings, imprisonment, experimentations, the people are frightened of us because of our special abilities" Irene answered.

"Ah'm sorry Auntie Irene" Anna said.

"It's not your fault honey, anyway what I want to tell you is that Raven has brought together a team of mutants called the Brotherhood, there going to

try to stop these bad things from happening anymore". Irene said then took Anna's hand in hers, "There's more to it Anna, you see your also a mutant".

Anna looked at her completely surprised, Irene could sense it and squeezed the childs hand in reassurance then continued, "Your powers won't manifest

until in your teen years, but we are going to start your training now, were taking you out of school and you'll be spending your days with the Brotherhood

learning everything you need to know to help us with the fight for mutant freedom" Irene said apologetically.

"But Auntie Ah dont wanna leave school, Ah like it there and all my friends are there, Ah dont wanna not see em agian"! Anna cried out.

"Oh honey you can still see your friends, just at the end of the day when training is done, this is very important Anna, I told you a long time ago

that you were going to be very important, and the time has come for you to start reaching your potential, don't you want to help save our kind"?

Irene asked, feeling guilty for trying to make this little girl feel guilty.

"Of course Auntie, Ah dont want any mutants to get hurt anymore, Ah'll help fight... in fact Ah'll be the best damn fighter ..... oops"! Anna said putting

a hand up to cover her mouth for the dirty word she had lit slip in front of Irene.

Irene just giggled and squeezed Anna's hand again, "Thank you child, you'll be making a world of difference by helping us, now I have a little gift for you"

Irene said, she handed Anna the white box. Anna opened the box and scrunched up her nose at the elbow length black gloves lying inside.

"What are these for" Anna asked confused.

"I'm not going to tell you specifically what there for, but you must wear them at all times, you need to get a feel for doing you're training and everyday things

in them, it's very important, do you understand"? Irene asked sternly.

"Not really, but Ah guess Ah just have to take ya word for it right" Anna said not liking the idea of wearing gloves all the time very appealing.

"Good, thank you child, so starting tomorrow you never take those off ok" Irene said.

"Yea ok" Anna replied with disappointment in her voice.

"Ok" ,Irene said getting up off the bed and heading towards the door, "Get some rest little one, your gonna have a busy day tomorrow".

"Whas happenin tomorrow" Anna asked while getting under her covers.

"You'll be meeting the Brotherhood tomorrow dear and starting your training" , Irene opened up the door and walked out leaving a very confused and

angry little girl behind her.

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Anna sat in the back seat of the car pulling irritably at her gloves, the Mississippi humidity making them all the more uncomfortable.

_This sucks, I cant see my friends and I gotta wear these stupid things_

They pulled into the gravel driveway of the auto garage, it was surrounded by a chain linked fence and the grass was covered with broken cars and parts,

and a group of people were standing in the shade of the opened garage.

"Good everyone's here" ,said Raven from the drivers seat as she parked the car, she then turned in her seat to look at Anna, "You remember what I told you

about names right"? She asked.

"Yes ma'am, your Mystique, Auntie Irene is Destiny and Ah'm Rogue" said Anna compliantly.

"Good, now come on child it's time to meet your new _teachers_" said Raven existing the car.

Anna got out of the car and followed behind Raven and Irene up to the group of rag tag mutants.

"So have all of you settled into your rooms" Raven asked the group.

"Yea, alittle cramped dontcha think" asked a huge man with long blond hair and fangs.

Raven looked at him disgustedly, "Alot better then the diseased brothel I pulled you out of" she replied icily. The man growled in response.

"Anyway" Raven said "Lets get introductions over with". She pointed to a short and lean man with blue eyes and black hair, "This is Black Tom, he can

create heat waves and blasts through wooden objects, he's also very knowledgeable with explosives and bombs".

"Ello" Black Tom replied in an Irish burr.

Next was a tall woman with long black hair and blue eyes, "This is Aurora" ,said Raven, "She can move and fly at superhuman speeds".

"Bonjour" Aurora said in a French Canadian accent.

"This is Spiral" ,Raven said pointing to a woman with white eyes and long silver hair, "She has quite a few abilities, teleportation, invisibility, she can use a

magic dance to people in a trance, and she's an expert sword fighter... oh yes she also owned her own body shop so she will be taking care of such

things in the garage".

Spiral just gave a smug smile.

"This is Stonewall" , pointing to a tall muscular man with black hair and dark brown eyes, "He has superhuman strength, density and durability, he's

also a skilled hand to hand combat fighter".

"Hello" he saluted the group.

Raven then turned to the fanged man, "And this over grown fur ball is Sabertooth, he can heal within seconds, heightened sences claws ect." she finished.

"Now as you all know I'm Mystique, I can shape shift, and this is my partner Destiny, she can see into the future, don't bother asking because she

won't tell you anything". Raven then brought Anna before the group, "This is my daughter Rogue, she's also a mutant although her powers haven't

manifested yet, she's going to be very important in the fight for mutant freedom so I want you all to take special care in training her, got it".

There was a collective shake of the head by the group, all looking at the looking girl skeptically. Black Tom raised his hand to get Ravens attention.

"Yes what is it" Raven asked.

"What exactly is out first mission gonna be Mystique" he asked in his Irish burr.

"First we need to get inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, then we need to hack into there database to find the locations of every building harboring

mutants for imprisonment or experimentation, so my first question is can any of you hack into a government database"? Mystique looked at the group.

There was a resounding "no" from the group and a few ashamed looks.

Raven rubbed the bridge of her nose and scrunched her eyes shut, "Whatever, I'll just find someone else to take of it, but once we get the list we'll

start making plans to get the mutants out and destroy the facilities and any information they have, got it".

Everyone shook their head "yes".

"Good, now we are also running a cover business here, I would take this seriously as this is how you'll be getting most of your income, half of you

will run the shop while the other half run the training and you'll switch up every other day, there's about five acres of land behind the garage where

training will take place". Raven said in her best business voice. She then pushed Anna forward towards the group, "Now if you would please

take Rogue and begin her training, Destiny and I have to figure out how were going to get the information from S.H.I.E.L.D., oh and there is repairs

that need to be done in the shop today so decide amongst yourselves who's going to do them, I'll be back later". Then Raven and Irene headed

back towards the car and drove off.

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When Raven and Irene got back to the house they headed straight to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee.

"Ok Irene what are we going to do"? asked Raven.

"Well I'm sure you can get into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters unnoticed dear" Irene said.

"Yes I know that, but I'm not exactly skilled at hacking government databases" ,Raven said exasperated, "Look do we know anyone with that type

of skill"? Raven asked.

Irene sat in her chair with a thump, and contemplated the problem for a few minutes, then she turned in Ravens direction with a huge smile, "Actually

I do believe I know someone who can help" Irene said.

"Really" asked Raven surprised.

"Yes dear, now please hand me the phone I have a few calls to make".

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Anna was sitting in the garage watching Black Tom work on the engine of an old Ford pick-up, she had been left with these strangers for almost two

hours now and was becoming very bored.

_I hope this isnt what they had in mind for training..... this sucks_

"So is this my trainin, learnin how to hand ya tools" she asked Black Tom.

"Well _lass_, first it's the tools, then I'll show ye how to fix cars, then I'll show ye how to make bombs, hows that sound" he answered.

"Wow, ya know how to make bombs"! Anna asked excited.

"Aye, my father taught me, he was in the IRA, do ye know what that is" ,he asked Anna, she shook her head no, "I'll explain it to ye some other time then,

anywayz, he was with them near on twenty years before he was killed, taught me all sorts a useful tricks".

"And ya gonna teach me this stuff" Anna asked.

"Aye, I believe that Mystique and Destiny have a plan for ye _lass_, and if yer gonna be a major player in mutant freedom then Im willin to teach ye all

I know" he said sincerly.

"Cool" was Anna's only reply.

"Alright _lass_ now hand me the wrench".

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Irene was getting off the phone when Raven came back into the kitchen, "So did you get someone" , she asked.

"Yes, his name is Theoren Marceaux, he's a professional thief and thinks himself to be a master hacker, he'll be coming by tomorrow afternoon to

meet with us and go over plans" Irene said fully pleased with herself.

"Great, how much does he want for the job" Raven asked.

"Actually he said he'd do it for free" Irene answered.

Raven almost dropped her coffee mug, "What, why would he do that"? Raven asked shocked.

Irene just smiled knowingly and shrugged her shoulders.

"I hate it when you do that" said Raven.

"Of course dear, that's why I do it, now I think it's about time we go pick up Anna" Irene said picking up her cane and heading towards the front door.

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The next afternoon Raven and Irene were cleaning up the sitting room and setting out glasses with a jug of iced tea, Irene insisting they had to use

Southern hospitality with this Mr. Marceaux, when they heard the knock on the door.

"I'll get it" said Raven walking towards the front door, when she opened the door there was a tall and lean man standing there, he had tanned skin, dark

combed back hair and deep brown eyes.

"Bonjour Ms. Adler, De names Jean-Luc LeBeau, Ah believe we have a meetin bout gettin ya some information" he said.

Raven looked at him suspiciously, "Who are you and why are you here" she asked coldly to the man.

Irene rushed to the door when she heard the name of the man at the door and pushed Raven out of the way, "Welcome Mr. LeBeau, I'm Ms. Adler,

please do come in" Irene greeted him then moved from the door way and pointed the direction to the sitting room.

Raven pulled her aside before they entered the room with him, "Who the hell is that" ,she demanded.

Irene just smiled at Raven, "Someone you'll be getting very acquainted with dear, so please play nice", Irene said then headed into the sitting room.

"Please sit down Mr. LeBeau" Irene gesturing to a seat on the other side of the coffee table from where her and Raven where going to sit, "Would

you like some tea" ,she asked him.

"Oui mercy" ,he said taking his cold glass of tea, "Je suis désolé, Ah know ya were expexctin my nephew Theoren, but dis is a government job and

Ah like to be informed of dose personally before Ah send my men out dere" ,Jean-Luc said, then he looked at Raven and abruptly stood up, "Sorry

Mademoiselle, where are my manners Ah didn get ya name" he asked.

"Ms. Darkholme" Raven answered.

Jean-Luc then took her hand and kissed the back off it, "Enchanté Mademoiselle Darkholme" ,he said suavely then took his seat again, "Now why

Exactly are ya breakin inta S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computer system" he asked.

Raven was about to speak, but Irene grabbed her hand and said, "Just tell him the truth dear, it's ok".

Raven looked to Jean-Luc then, "I run a group called the Brotherhood, we're mutant freedom fighters, I need to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database to get a

list of facilities that are imprisoning and experimenting on mutants, I need to find these places to free the mutants and dismantle the facilities,

destroy the information and such".

Jean-Luc gave her a sincere smile, "Ah see, well den Ah give ya my best t'ief, my son Henri, ya get im in and he get ya dat information".

"How much will I owe you" Raven asked.

"Is on da house , no charge" he answered.

"Well that's very generous of you, but from one business man to another, no just does these type of things for free" Raven responded.

"Non, ya right , ya see Ah got me a younger son who's a mutant, he aint got no powers yet but his eyes give im away, so ya see

you takin out dese facilities ensures dat my son wont be takin in and experimented on imself" ,Jean-Luc said seriously.

Raven looked at him in shock, Jean-Luc stood up and extended his hand out to Raven, she stood up and took it.

"Ah agree wit what ya doin , ya kind don deserve whas happenin to em, so if in ya ever need my help at all ya just ask d'accord"

"Of course , thank you so much" Raven said.

"Well den, Ah'll be on my way den, Give me afew days to set up a date wit Henri den we be callin you to start plannin" ,Jean-Luc said then he turned to

Irene, " it was pleasure meetin ya".

"Like Wise" Irene said.

Raven showed Jean-Luc to the door, then went back to the sitting room and sat next to Irene.

"Well that worked out perfectly" Raven said.

"I knew it would" said Irene with a smile.

**There should only be one more chapter before we get into rogues teenage years and her getting her powers, but no promises because I could completely change my mind at any time……………**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I don't own these characters**

Afew Days Later......

"Je m'appelle Aurora, comment vous appelez-vous?" asked Aurora.

"Uhh what" said Anna, looking bored at her make shift desk at the Brotherhood house.

Aurora sighed exasperatedly, "Would you please pay attention, this isnt rocket science you know", she snapped at Anna.

Anna gave her a scowl and crossed her arms defensively, "Ah didn whan ta take this stupid class ta begin with", she yelled.

"Well it's not up to you is it , oh dear saviour of the world", Aurora said sarcastically.

"Hey it's not mah fault Ah'm gonna be more awsomer then you"! Anna snapped back at the insult.

"Awsomer", Aurora scoffed, "Really? What are you a kid"?

Anna's mouth dropped open in shock at her teammate/French teachers cruelness, "Why you stupid stupidhead", she yelled,

"Ah oughta pop you one in the mouth ya... ya.... ya MEANIE"! Anna yelled pointing an accusing gloved finger at her tormenter.

Aurora pushed Anna's hand down and picked up her lesson plan, "This is pointless, look Im sorry Rogue, ok so lets just get back to the

lesson, we still have forty five minutes left".

Aurora extended her hand out to Anna, "Truce?", she said. Anna took her hand and shook it vigorously, "Truce", she said to Aurora.

"Good", said Aurora, "Now, un stupide petite fille dit quel"?

"Uhh what" answered Anna.

"Exactement" said Aurora with a knowing smile.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anna walked into her house an hour later, exhausted and frazzled after another day of training and lessons.

"Mamma, Auntie Irene, Ah'm home, where are ya'll", she called into the seemingly empty house.

"Oh good", she heard Raven say from the sitting room and so startted to head in that direction, "Were in here Dear, theres some...", Raven

said but was cut off mid scentence by Anna running into the room and yelling, "Mamma what the heck does a stupide petite fille mean"!

Thats when Anna heard the muffled giggling and snickering coming from the opposite side of the room from her guardian's

were sitting.

_Oh God_, she thought as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. There were three strangers sitting in the room, three MALE strangers.

The boy on the left was a blonde muscular teen, handsome and gentle looking. The older man in the middle, thier dad she thought, he

was tanned and rich looking and was elbowing his two boys to stop giggling at her less then lady like entrance. The right part of the sofa

was occupied by a still snickering, scrawny, auburn haired boy maybe about two years older then her..... with the most strange and awsomest

eyes she had ever seen. But that moment was ruined when the scrawny boy opened his mouth.

"HAHA! Can believe ya don know wha a stupide petite fille is" he said, doubling over in his seat with laughter.

Now Anna didnt know what that scrawny boy said to her, but she sure as heck knew he was making fun of her and she had had all about

enough of that today.

"Why ya scrawny little..... RAT! Ah'm gonna show you what a stupide petite fille is" Anna yelled.

The boy stopped laughing during her tirade, but as soon as she finished yelling her damning scentence his face turned red and his eyes

started to water.... then he doubled over agian and laughed so hard that the nieghbors could probably hear him.

Anna did not appriciate this. She stomped over to that scrawny little rat and socked him right in the shoulder.

"Awww, wha da hell"! he yelled, holding his injured appendage and looking at Anna like she was crazy.

Raven and the older man both stood up at the same time and yelled at thier respective child to stop acting so.... childish.

Raven grabbed Anna's arm and forced her to sit inbetween her and Irene, "Anna calm down, thats no way to treat a guest" she scolded.

"Well he started it" Anna yelled back, crossing her arms and pouting.

The scrawny boy looked offended and crossed his arms with a pout too, "Did not ya stupide petite fille ", he shot back to Anna.

The older man smacked his youngest over the back of his head, "Il s'arrêter maintenant! Dat's no way ta treat our hostesses daughter", he yelled

to the boy. The older man then turned to Raven and gave her an apologetic smile, "Je suis si désolé Mademoiselle Darkholme, mah boy here

seems ta be missin his brain ta mouth filter today", he said giving his youngest the evil eye.

"It's quite alright Mr. LeBeau, my daughter has seemed to misplace her manners somewhere", Raven said, giving Anna an identical evil eye.

"Well den", said , "Shall we get back to business". He looked towards Anna, "Miss Anna, Ah'm Jean-Luc LeBeau, and dese are mah boys, Henri"

Jean-Luc said nodding to the blonde haired boy.

Henri nodded his head towards Anna, "Bonjour Miss Anna" he said.

Jean-Luc then motioned to the scrawny boy, "An dis is my youngest son Remy". Remy, still pouting, nodded his head in Anna's direction but didnt

say anything.

_Probably for the best_, Anna thought.

"So Miss Darkholme" ,said Jean-Luc, "We have all the preperations done for this mission of yours, Henri an I have government issued I.D.'s and

uniforms, we be takin in Remy here, given his obvious mutation, to gain entrance into the main holding area where the computers are kept, all ya

have ta do is take out the gaurd securing the door to the holdin area and disguise yourself as him, so as ta make sure dat no one gets in dat room

while we in dere, d'accord".

"Of course" ,said Raven, "And what about the computers, have you secured the codes as well"?

Henri spoke up this time, "Miss Darkholm" ,he drawled, "We professional thieves, most information gatherin is done on computer dese days, we got dis".

"Good, thank you Henri" Raven said, "Now when will this take place"?

"Tonight" Jean-Luc said, "We get in, we get out, and ya got yaself a list of every governmnet biuldin holdin mutants, an if ya need our help beyond dat all ya

have ta do is ask, da Thieves Guild is more den willin to help ya".

"Thank you Jean-Luc" said Irene, "We are forever grateful to you".

"Non Miss Adler, were grateful for what ya doin, like Ah said before, Ah want mah boy here" ,Jean-Luc patted Remy's shoulder, "to grow up in a world

without people fearin who he is cuz o'da way he was born".

"Well then" Irene said standing up, "I'll make a hearty dinner before the expodition, what do you say"?

************************

**oh my gosh that took forever, worst writters block ever!**

**the next update will be alot sooner i promise.....  
**


	7. Chapter 7

In the kitchen the women were cooking a hearty meal while the men sipped on sweet iced tea at the table while going over further details for the mission. The plan was to leave late in the night to the military base on the coast of Mississippi. All that was left to be done was wait for night fall.

While the adults were plotting in the kitchen, Anna and Remy were sitting outside, forced into what the adults called "quality bonding time". They found themselves sitting under a large tree for shade, idly picking at the grass around them and trying very hard to ignore each other. Unfortunately Remy found it very hard to ignore anybody, including the loud mouthed tomboy sitting next to him that he was forced to spend the day with, he was used to running his mouth a mile a minute to anyone who was within earshot.

"Betcha Ah could climb to da top of dis tree fasta den you", he challenged Anna.

"Betcha fall on ya skinny butt while Ah'm waving at ya from atop that tree", Anna challenged back, standing up quickly and balling her fists at her sides.

Remy followed suit, standing to his full height and crossing his arms in a defiant manner, "Fine then", he replied, "On Three".

"Fine", Anna said.

"K, an one,two,three,go"! Remy called out hurriedly and dashed up the tree.

"Hey! Not fair"! Anna yelled trying to catch up to him.

"Life aint fair girl" , Remy called down, climbing up the branches with unnatural agility.

"Ohhh, Ah hate you" Anna growled up to him, lagging well behind Remy.

"Ah hate you too" Remy called back, absolutely offended that anyone would say such a thing to him.

"Yea, well Ah hate you more, with ya stupid boy face an ya stupid accent an ya stupid….."

"Oh yea", Remy yelled cutting off Anna's tirade, "Well dis stupid boy face just beat ya up da stupid tree an kicked ya stupid butt… so HA"! Remy yelled triumphantly from atop the tree.

Anna's face grew bright red with anger, but before she could retaliate she lost her footing on the branch she was climbing and started to tumble down the tree.

"Anna"! Remy yelled as he watched her lose balance and start to fall, he used his unnatural agility to swing down the branches and land at the bottom of the tree before Anna could hit the ground. Remy held out his arms to her and she landed with a loud thump right on top of him, he falling to the ground on his back and she sprawled out on top of his chest.

Remy gave out a loud cough trying to get the air back into his lungs that Anna had knocked out of him, "Damn girl how much do ya weigh", he wheezed out.

Anna sprang up off of Remy and punched him in the chest, the anger still burning red on her face, "Cant ya ever keep that mouth of yours shut", she yelled at him.

"Now is dat any way to talk to ya knight in shining armour", Remy said sitting up on his hands and giving Anna a cocky smile.

"Oh please", Anna said getting to her feet and brushing off what she assumed to be Remy dirt from off her clothes, "Ya more like a joker without a clue".

"Oh yea", Remy retaliated, also getting to his feet, "Well den milady, let dis here joker help ya clean off". Remy picked up Anna and threw her over his shoulder and carried her purposely over to the river.

Anna turned her head in her awkward position and upon seeing where he was taking her started to kick her legs and pound her fists into his back, "Remy don't ya dare" , she yelled.

"Or what, vous stupide petite fille, what ya gonna do bout it"? Remy asked laughing.

"Or Ah'll eye gouge ya in the face" Anna yelled furiously.

"Damn petite, ya got a mouth on you, an Ah'm thinking dat someone needs to wash it out fo'ya" Remy said still laughing at Anna's frustration.

"Don't ya dare Remy or Ah swear Ah will end you"!

"Alright girl ya ready fo'dat mouth washin"? Remy said in a teasing voice.

"Remy don't…. NOOOOO"! Anna screamed as Remy tossed her into the air and she landed with a loud splash into the water. Anna sprang to the surface a few seconds later, spitting out dirty river water that had gotten into her mouth, "Ewww, this is so gross", she coughed out with a disgusted look on her face.

Remy doubled over in laughter, "haha ya look like a drowned riva rat", he said in between laughing fits. However his good humor was cut short when a huge mud ball was hurled right into his face. He wiped off the mud from around his eyes and saw Anna laughing hysterically at him from where she stood in the water, "Oh now ya gonna get it girl", he threatened and ran into the water after her.

Anna squealed in mirth at being chased by an irritated and muddy Remy, and started to swim away, however she wasn't fast enough and he caught her by the leg, "Let go ya dirty mud bug", she yelled trying to keep the laughter from her voice.

Remy, still holding on to her leg, dipped his head under the water and re-emerged with a slightly less muddy face and a playful look, "Mud bug huh"?

"Yea, that's you alright, prince of the mud bugs", Anna said with a laugh.

"Hey now petite Ah take offense to dat, seein as how Ah just happen to be a prince", Remy said with a smug smile.

"Yea", Anna agreed, "Prince of the mud bugs", she said kicking water in his face so he'd let her go.

Remy didn't budge, but pulled her in closer, "Try prince of thieves", he said with a conspiratorial glance.

"Oh whatever", Anna said rolling her eyes at him, she pulled her leg free and splashed water at Remy, "Ya so full of ya'self".

"Non, seriously, Ah'm da prince of thieves, an my daddy is da king, leader of da whole thieves guild", Remy said.

"Whatever ya say, your highness", Anna said sarcastically, "But this sounds like something ya shouldn't be goin round telling folks".

"Yea well normally Ah don't, but seein as how ya family is also in da business of doin illegal things, Ah think dat we have an understandin", Remy said with a shrug.

"Guess ya right", Anna said, "But ya still be the prince of the mud bugs to me" she said with a laugh.

"Oh yea", Remy challenged.

"Yea", Anna said, "Well ya definitely aint no prince charmin" she teased.

"Oh Ah'll show you prince charmin", Remy said, he grabbed the collar of Anna's shirt, pulling her in and planting a big wet kiss on her lips.

Anna's eyes popped wide open in shock and she shoved Remy off of her, "Ewww", she yelled while wiping her mouth off with her hand, "Now Ah have mud bug boy germs", she complained and gave him an evil glare.

"Whatever", Remy said offended, turning around and making his way back to the river bank.

"No, seriously", Anna said while following behind Remy, "Ah'll probably get some horrible disease now … like one of them skin eatin diseases".

Remy turned around and gave her an angry look, "Ya know what Anna, one of dese days ya'll want my kisses an den …. an den… an den Ah just wont give ya any" he yelled back flustered.

"Ah'm fine with that", Anna replied with a smile.

"Ah hate you", Remy said, finally climbing out of the water.

"Ah hate you too" Anna shot back.

And that's when they heard Irene call them in for dinner.

"Betcha Ah can beat ya there", Remy challenged.

"Betcha Ah kick ya stupid butt", Anna challenged back, finally getting out of the water herself.

"K, in one,two,three,go"! Remy yelled and sprang for the house.

"Ohhh ya such a cheater Remy"! Anna called while running to catch up.

"Naw, just like winnin is all, now hurry up for Ah eat ya dinner to riva rat"!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own marvel or these characters

Chapter 8

After dinner the two families sat around the table all discussing matters that your usual crime families talked about, the weather, good education, the best tools for breaking and entering, and the benefits of living in the south. When the clock hit 11 p.m. it was decided that Raven and the LeBeau's should be on their way for their mission down on the Mississippi coast.

Irene took Anna upstairs to her room, while Raven, Jean-Luc, Henri and Remy got prepared. Raven was up in her room getting her trusted duffle bag together, guns, silencers, ammo, cuffs, and the most important item.. the floppy disk that would hold the information of all military bases holding mutants. While Raven was checking the safety on her weapon, Irene came into the room, a serious expression on her face and a stubborn stance.

Raven stopped what she was doing and sighed looking at her partner, "What is it Irene? I have limited time to get this done".

"Make sure nothing happens to that boy" Irene stated bluntly.

"Which boy" Raven asked annoyed and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The mutant boy" ,Irene said rolling her eyes behind her dark glasses, "Make sure to take extra care of Remy, he's important".

"Irene I'm trying to liberate the mutants and ensure our safety, why wouldn't I ensure his" Raven stated.

"I know darling, I wasn't questioning your motives, I was simply stating to take extra care of him" Irene said with a smile.

"Now aside from the obvious Irene, why is this boy so special, have you seen something" Raven asked.

"I'm not going to give you all the details just yet, but that boy is going to be important to the cause and to us in the future" Irene said.

"Well obviously a mutant thief will be most useful, but there's something more than that isn't there" Raven asked suspiciously.

"Well of course Raven, he plays a major roll in the future, not just as a thief, but as a fighter, a protector and over all someone who will help shape major events, and that's all your getting out of me over this issue so just get that boy back home safe.. I'm serious"

"I got it, I'll keep an extra eye out for the boy.. ok" Raven said trying to stop Irene's tirade.

"Good, now give me a kiss and be sure to take care of yourself as well" Irene said giving Raven a cute smile.

"I always do" ,Raven stated, she wrapped her arms around Irene and kissed her tenderly on the lips, "I love you".

"I love you to dear" Irene sighed in to Ravens ear.

"Ok babe I have to get going" Raven said letting go of Irene and picking up her bag.

"I know" Irene stated disappointedly.

* * *

Jean-Luc and Henri had put on their military gear and strapped on their weapons while Remy, who had already dirtied himself playing in the river, already looked the part of a mutant who had gotten into a scuffle and captured. When the two woman came down stars from their seclusion they found the boys ready to go and pacing the living room floor in impatience.

"Ya ready to go" Jean-Luc asked the beautiful blue Raven.

"Yes" she replied "Lets pack up the jeep and get out of here".

Jean-Luc picked up Ravens duffle bag and made a sweeping gesture towards the door, "After you mademoiselle" he said in his most charming voice.

* * *

After Irene locked the door behind the foursome, she made her way up to Anna's room. This was a big day for her little girl and she wouldn't even realize it until years from now, Irene mused to herself. When she made it up the stairs and down the hall she rapped lightly on Anna's door.

"Are you up dear" Irene called through the door.

"Yea auntie Irene I'm up" Anna called from the other side.

Irene heard little footsteps pad across the floor and heard the door open, "Hey auntie Irene, what's up" Anna asked.

"Oh nothing" ,Irene answered, "The house just seems so empty right now so I thought I'd come up here and chat with you for awhile".

"Oh ok" Anna said. She opened the door all the way and led Irene to her bed where they both sat down.

"So how was your day" Irene asked once they were both settled in.

Anna rolled her eyes as she leaned back on her pillow, "Horrible auntie Irene, that Remy kid was sooo annoying".

Irene gave out a small laugh, "Yes well boys his age do tend to be that way".

"Well Cody's not like that" Anna shot back.

"I'm sure he is like that, just not when your around, I think he likes you" Irene teased.

"Ewww no way" Anna proclaimed disgustedly at the prospect of boy cooties.

"Iv seen the way he taunts and teases you, just like Remy" Irene egged on.

"Yea right" ,Anna yelled, "Cody is a gentlemen and has manners, someone needs to teach that Remy bout manners and about how to treat a lady".

"Just give it time Anna" Irene said giving Anna's hair a little tug.

"Give it time"! Anna yelled looking shocked, "Auntie Irene if I never see that boy again it'll be too soon".

Irene laughed, getting off the bed and heading towards the door, "I'm sure your right, sweet dreams little one".

"Night auntie Irene" Anna called from her bed.

Irene turned off the light and closed the door behind her.

_And so it begins_, she thought to herself almost melancholy knowing the future that lay before them all.

* * *

A few miles outside of the military base Raven and the LeBeau's were trying to hide the jeep in the woods on the side of the two lane country road. Henri went out to the road and gave them the thumbs up symbol when he couldn't see the jeep anymore.

"Good" ,Raven said brushing off her hands and grabbing her duffle bag from out of the jeep, "Ok lets go over the plan one more time".

The boys nodded their head in agreement and everyone took a seat on the damp Mississippi earth.

"Alright" ,Raven started, "I'm going to shift form into that of a battered woman and lay in the road until the next military truck comes by, when the soldiers get out of the truck to check on me ,you two" ,she looked pointedly at Jean-Luc and Henri, "help me take them out and hide them in the woods, I'll take one of the security cards and shift into that soldiers form to get us on the base, everyone got it" Raven asked the group.

"Yes ma'am" the LeBeau men said in unison.

"Good" ,Raven said, she stood up then and shifted her form into that of a beautiful blonde woman with bruises and scrapes and wearing a tattered dress, "lets get this over with".

Raven made her way out to the road, back towards the LeBeau men, Jean-Luc and Henri stared at her backside in head cocked appreciation while Remy looked at the two older men in awkward confusion about what was so interesting about Ms. Darkholme's backside.

* * *

While Raven, or "Mystique" as they were told to call her now that the mission had started, was lying out in the road the LeBeau's lingered out in the woods keeping watch for the next military truck. Jean-Luc meandered over to Mystique's bag and pulled out the hand and ankle cuffs.

"Come 'ere boy" ,he called over to Remy, "let's get dese on before things start rollin".

"Yes père" Remy said walking over to his father and not all to comfortable with the idea of being cuffed.

Remy sat down in front of Jean-Luc and put his wrists and legs out in front of him. Jean-Luc made fast work of getting Remy's appendages shackled and then looked into his youngest sons glowing red eyes seriously.

"You remember to just keep ya mouth shut and looked pissed off right' Jean-Luc asked, Remy nodded in acknowledgment, "Fight us a little" ,Jean-Luc continued, "And make it look real".

"Yea, I got it" Remy said annoyed.

"Bon, just stay here till either me or Henri come get ya" Jean-Luc said and then left Remy to sit alone while him and Henri kept a look out.

* * *

A good hour later headlights were seen and a military truck stopped in front of the seemingly unconscious form of Mystique. Two soldiers got out of the front of the truck and started making a fuss about what to do with the hurt woman on the road, they checked her vitals and looked for any major wounds. That's when Jean-Luc and Henri emerged from the woods and silently checked the rest of the truck to make sure it was empty of anyone else. It was and they called out the signal, the sound of a dying cat "Henri's idea", to Mystique that all was clear.

Mystique opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at the two soldiers, "Well thank you boys, but I think I'm good now".

Mystique changed into her blue form, but before the soldiers could react she kicked both men in the head knocking them unconscious. Jean-Luc and Henri quickly bind and gagged the two unconscious forms and dragged their bodies into the woods out of sight from any passer by's.

Mystique grabbed the I.D. badge off of the driver of the truck and changed into his form, while Jean-Luc put the duffle bag into the truck. Henri went to get Remy and when they emerged from the woods they were put into the back of the truck while Mystique and Jean-Luc climbed up front and they made their way to the gate of the base.

"Ya ready for dis" Henri asked Remy now that they were alone.

"Course I am" Remy responded with all the confidence of his youth.

"Good, dis is a big job frère, your first in a minimum security military base, just wanted to make sure ya ready for dis" Henri said.

"I know Henri, damn ya actin like I'm an armature or somthin, pretty sure I can act like a pissed off mutant in hand cuffs" Remy said sarcastically.

"I know little bro" ,Henri sighed, "It's just dat dis is important Remy, we doin dis for you" Henri said and placed a comforting hand on Remy's shoulder.

"Yea, thanks frère" Remy said giving Henri a fake smile and quickly looking away.

* * *

Mystique and Jean-Luc put on their game faces when they made it to the gate. Since Mystique had changed her form into one of the regular soldiers on base they were waved in immediately.

"That's quite a gift ya got dere chère" ,Jean-Luc mused as they continued into the base, "Ya sure you don't want to join the guild".

"Yea I'm sure" ,Mystique responded with a smile, "But I'll hold you to it just in case".

"The offer stands whenever ya want it petite" ,Jean-Luc said with a wink, "Though I gotta say it's kinda out dere tryin to charm a woman in the shape of a man, definitely a new one eh".

"I'm sure, good thing I'm immune to that southern charm" Mystique responded.

She pulled the truck over to the building she knew the mutants were processed in. They exited the truck, Mystique walked over to the guard at the door and started explaining the situation to him about how they had a captured mutant. Jean-Luc opened the back of the truck and let Henri and Remy out. They hauled Remy roughly over to the guard, who gave Remy a disgusted look.

"Damn look at them eyes, boys definitely a mutant" ,the guard cocked his head towards the door, "alright go on through there and process him, we got a special place for you boy" he said to Remy with unpleasant smile.

Remy didn't take to kindly to the guards attitude and as he walked passed him he turned and roughly kicked him in the knee, "Fuck you vous bâtard ignorants" Remy yelled at him.

The guard, bent over in pain, gave Remy an evil look "Fuck you to you filthy mutant, they better lock your ass up for life" he screamed.

Jean-Luc and Henri pulled Remy forcefully through the door and when they saw they were in the hall alone Henri gave Remy a huge smile.

"Hell yea little bro, dat was awsome, he just got his ass kicked by a kid" Henri said amused.

"Good job boy" Jean-Luc said approvingly "Now lets find this processing room".

"Hey where did Mystique go" Henri asked.

"Don't know, but lets hurry dis up" Jean-Luc said.

* * *

When Mystique was sure the boys were safely out of ear shot she turned to the guard who was regaining his composer and gave him a disgusted look.

"I hope your little outburst was worth it" she said to him coldly.

"Excuse me" he said confused, he looked up at his fellow soldier but only saw a barrel of a gun pointed at him, "what's going on" he asked scared.

"Your death, for the capture and torture of mutants" Mystique said and fired the gun before the frightened guard could get a final word out.

"Worthless Homo sapien" she spit out and hid her gun away.

* * *

The LeBeau's were almost done copying all the information onto the disk when Mystique walked in.

"Is it done yet" she asked.

"Yea just one more minute" Henri said from his place in front of the computer.

"Good we have to get out of here as soon as possible" she replied.

Everyone gave her a suspicious look but didn't bother to ask any questions. When Henri popped out the disk he handed it to Mystique while Jean-Luc uncuffed Remy.

"Alright lets get da hell out of here" Jean-Luc proclaimed.

The foursome made their way out of the processing room and through the winding halls to the door that led to the back gate. The thieves and Mystique successfully made it over the barb wire fencing and dashed through the woods until they made it safely back to the jeep. The soldiers they had taken out earlier were still lying there unconscious, so Jean-Luc and Henri moved them out to the road in hopes that their fellow soldiers would find them there. Mystique and Remy packed into the jeep and drove out onto the road, picking up Jean-Luc and Henri and quickly high tailed it away from the base.

* * *

They made it back to Raven's house right before sunrise and Irene was there to greet them at the door.

"How did it go" she asked already knowing the answer.

Raven pulled out the disk and held it up in front of Irene, "Success" she said.

"A little to easy if ya ask me" Henri said with a cocky smile.

"Yes well I'm sure you all must be tired" Irene addressed the group "Would you all like to rest here" she asked.

"No ma'am but thank you, we appreciate it but we best be on our way" Jean-Luc said politely.

He and his boys said their farewells and left Raven and Irene to their privacy.

"We start upping the Brotherhood's training tomorrow, and Anna's as well, we have ten bases to hit" Raven stated.

"Yes dear" Irene answered "However can we leave planning for later, I would like to get some sleep".

Raven smiled, "Sure babe", she put her arm around Irene and they headed upstairs.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to Marvel..

**Chapter 9**

**Mississippi**

**November 1993**

_**This sucks, this sucks, this sucks**__… _Were the only thoughts going on through Anna's head. She had spent the past six months enduring rigorous training with the Brotherhood, she was almost certain that Raven had gone insane. The Brotherhood spent six days a week, twelve hours a day training with each other and Anna was put through the worst of it due to her age and inexperience. At the moment she found herself running through the thick Mississippi wilderness behind the Brotherhood base haphazardly dodging projectiles being thrown at her by Black Tom, she found this to be quite unfair considering he could turn any wooden object into an explosive which meant that the entire forest was at his disposal.

"Ya best keep runnin lass," Black Tom yelled from behind her in his thick Irish accent.

_**I hate him.. I really really do**__… _Anna thought irritated. She was fast, there was no denying that, but she was up against a highly trained fighter and a dangerous mutant to boot.

_**I shouldn't even be training with the Brotherhood until I get my own powers, this just isn't fair, Black Tom can throw explosives at me and all I can do is run away, how am I even suppose to help in missions!**__ … _Anna yelled helplessly in her head.

Anna dodged another glowing piece of wood that was thrown at her and turned a corner around a row of thick bushes. She found an uprooted tree lying on its side, its huge mass of roots and the dirt that clinged to it formed a somewhat cave just her size …. _**Perfect! I'm sick of all this running; I gotta get this guy off my back.**_

Anna looked around her, there had to be a useful weapon around here and hiding in her makeshift cave only bought so much time. She dug around the uprooted dirt and found a thick branch almost her size in length… _**Sure it's made of wood but it'll still hurt if I hit him with it!**_

Anna crouched down in her cave and steadied herself until she heard the distinct sound of footsteps crunching threw leaves and sticks.

"Ya can't hide forever Rogue; I'll find ya sooner or later"! Black Tom yelled into the quiet woods. He looked around trying to find that distinctive white stripe in the middle of his green surroundings but instead stumbled upon a wall of roots and dirt. He smiled to himself knowing for well that his feisty little trainee was hiding behind that wall, "Roguey… oh Roguey, your cornered lass, best come out and surrender," he teased her.

Anna waited in her cave, subconsciously holding her breath listening to Black Tom come around the wall to where she was crouching. When she saw the first visible sign of him turn that corner towards her she stood up fast as lighting and slammed her small branch into Black Toms stomach with a sickening smack that echoed through the woods.

"Fuck me" Black Tom moaned in pain, falling to his knees and holding his stomach.

"Well that's what ya get for tryin to mess with me" Anna yelled at him, as she still held her branch positioned like she was up to bat.

Black Tom looked up at her with water in his eyes and anger written clearly on his face, "That's part of the trianin Rogue, I'm spose to come after ya and your spose to get away, that's the game"!

"Oh.. well I'm sorry then I guess, but hey at least I fought back, isn't that also part of the game" Anna said trying to make light of the situation and grinning at Black Tom sheepishly.

Black Tom stood up shakily and started dusting off the dirt on his clothes, "Aye your right, it's better ya fought back, I'm not really mad about ya hittin me either, it's a good job lass".

"Yea it was a pretty good hit if I do say so myself" Anna said with a satisfied air and turning her nose up in a smug gesture.

"Alright don't get to full of it now, ya just got one good hit, now give me the stick and let's get out of here, it's almost dark aye" Black Tom said reaching out his hand to take Anna's branch away.

Anna put the branch behind her back, keeping it out of Black Tom's reach, "No way"! She yelled at him, "Why would I hand over my only weapon, especially when you could turn it into a blow up Rogue device"!

"Don't start with me lass just hand it over, maybe I don't trust you to not take another shot at me" Black Tom retorted.

"Well sucks for you then cuz I'm keepin this here branch forever"! Anna said in a sassy tone.

"That's it, I'm not playin around with you anymore ya wretched little girl" Black Tom yelled, he lunged towards Anna and pulled at the branch behind her back. He twisted it out from behind her and the two played a sort of tug of war with the branch.

"Let go"! Anna finally screamed.

"Whatever ya say" Black Tom let go of the branch.

Anna stumbled backwards when Black Tom let go, and then she noticed the funny yellow glow from the branch, "Ahhhhhh," Anna screamed like a little girl who saw a spider and threw the branch back at Black Tom.

When the smoke cleared Anna saw Black Tom lying sprawled out on the forest floor having a coughing fit.

"That's it" Black Tom said still out of breath, "I'm tellin Mystique on you", he said with a smidge of humor in his voice.

"Darn" Anna said giving her fingers a snap, "It must suck to have gotten beat by a little girl" she teased.

"Just help me up ya wee brat" Black Tom said tiredly, "Well start the bomb makin tomorrow, hopefully that'll be less painful".

* * *

"Irene I need to talk to you" Raven called into the house as she walked in the door.

"In the kitchen dear" Irene called back.

When Raven walked into the kitchen she found Irene sitting at the table nursing a bowl of chocolate ice cream. "You already know what I'm going to say don't you"?

"And whatever could that be dear" Irene said with an almost bitter tone to her voice.

"That I'm going to Germany for a few weeks, I need to check on him Irene, it's been years" Raven replied back, collapsing into a chair exhaustedly.

"Yes it has, but he's with a good family now Raven, there's no need for you to go snooping about and possibly messing up the life he has with his family" Irene retorted back.

"There's no need to get upset Irene, I'm not going to interfere, I just want to see him, I just want to see for myself that he's ok" Raven shot back.

"And when do you plan on going on this little adventure" Irene asked.

"Tomorrow, I don't know where he lives exactly so this may take awhile and I need to get back here as soon as possible" Raven smiled at Irene, "I'm sure that the Brotherhood will slack in their training the moment I leave".

The humor was lost on Irene who still held an aggressive air about her, "And are you going alone"?

Raven sighed and gave Irene a serious look, "No I'm taking Creed with me, I need a tracker, seems to be the only thing he's good at".

"Creed huh, I thought you two didn't get along" Irene questioned angrily.

Raven pushed away from the table and stood up, "Oh come off it Irene", Raven opened up a nearby cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch and a glass, she poured herself a drink, sat back down and took a large sip, "I'm not having this argument with you Irene, it's absolutely ridiculous".

"I don't think it's so ridiculous, you off in Germany alone with Creed, I guess I just don't get it" Irene said.

"I told you exactly why I'm bringing Creed, I have no idea where my son is and Creed is the best at tracking, that's the only reason he's coming with me" Raven took another sip and looked at Irene seriously, "Is there something you're not telling me Irene, have you seen something and that's why your acting so hostile towards me"?

"No I didn't see anything" Irene said softly, "I just don't think this is a good idea, I see this ending badly". Irene said feeling guilty about lying to Raven about not having seen a vision, she had and didn't end well for her, for Anna, for Raven or her son, and the rest of mutant kind as well. She wanted to stop Raven from going on this journey with Creed, but if it was meant to be then who was she to change the course of the future.

"Irene I promise you everything will be fine" Raven said reaching over the table and giving Irene's hand a squeeze in reassurance.

"No it's not" Irene said sadly, she got up and left the room leaving Raven to wonder what had just happened.

* * *

Raven pulled into the Brotherhood driveway, violently stopping the vehicle and creating a dust cloud around the car. She was furious; Irene knew something and was keeping it from her. _**I don't see what harm could come from me checking on my son.**_

When the dust cleared she saw Creed stepping outside with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. She rolled down the window and stuck her head out, "Hurry up and get in the damn car"!

Creed walked slowly over to the dusty jeep, slammed his bag in the back seat and gave Raven a dirty look, "If this is the way you're gonna act then you can just forget me helping you bitch, seriously".

"Watch your mouth and get in the fucking car Creed" Raven replied with a steel voice and a deathly glare.

Creed growled and climbed into the back of the jeep.

"Seriously" Raven said looking back at him from the driver's seat, "Your really gonna sit back there".

"What can I say, you're a hard woman to be around, I think I'll be less likely to kill you if I sit back here".

"Fair enough" Raven said turning back around, putting the jeep into gear, and hauling out of the driveway.

* * *

Anna splashed around wildly in the river water, trying desperately to get away from Cody who was holding up a little garden snake and wading towards her in the water menacingly with it.

"Get that thing away from me Cody, seriously I'm not playin around"! Anna yelled at him.

"Oh come on Annie it's just a little gardener snake" Cody said laughing.

"Ya know I hate those things" Anna yelled swimming for dear life to shore so she could make a run for it.

"It aint gonna hurt ya none" Cody yelled back.

"I don't care", Anna pulled herself up to the river bank and grabbed a hand full of mud, holding it up menacingly in front of Cody.

"Now that aint very nice Annie" Cody said stopping in his tracks.

"You put the snake down and you won't get a face full of mud" Anna replied dead serious.

"Fine" ,Cody swam up to shore and put the snake on the ground, it slithered away towards Anna and she backed away squealing like a little girl, throwing her mud ball at the defenseless snake. She missed and all she heard was Cody laughing hysterically at her.

"It's not funny"! Anna yelled at him angrily, feeling silly.

"Yea it is" ,Cody said in between laughs, "Your actin like a scared little girl".

"Whatever"! Anna turned around and stormed off, heading in the direction of her house.

"Hey Annie wait up"! Cody called from behind her.

"No"! She yelled back stubbornly.

Cody picked up his speed and ran in Anna's direction, when he got to her side he grabbed a hold of her hand, stopping her in her tracks, "I'm sorry Annie", he said sincerely.

"It was mean, you know those things freak me out" Anna replied.

"I know, and im really sorry, I was just playin around" Cody said with all the seriousness a seven year old could muster.

"Whatever, just don't do it again or I'll have to kick ya butt" Anna said feeling weird about the serious moment.

"Friends"? Cody asked with a playful smile.

Anna smiled back, "Yea, friends".

"Good" Cody said throwing his arm over Anna's shoulder, "So what's for dinner"?

"Wow, you're actually comin over for dinner"? Anna questioned disbelievingly.

"Yea" Cody said, then looked over at Anna with an almost fearful glance, "Well that is if ya mommas still out of town"?

"Yea she's still out of town" Anna replied with a laugh.

"Where is she again" Cody questioned conversationally.

"Somewhere in Germany" Anna replied.

"Germany.. wow, what's in Germany"? He questioned further.

"I don't know, probably just another business trip" Anna replied. She honestly didn't know why Raven was in Germany, those sorts of details where usually left in the dark, and Anna never questioned it. In all honesty Anna could have cared less about what Raven did when she went away, she didn't remember a lot about her life before moving in with Raven and Irene, and even though they took care of her, something in Anna couldn't let Raven in her heart and truly be her parent.

"She does that a lot, these business trips, what kinda business is she in"? Cody asked.

"What's with all the questions, jeez" Anna replied getting irritated. This was the sort of thing that the Brotherhood hadn't trained her for, someone questioning about the family business. Anna knew full well that telling Cody that her family was in the "busting mutants out of prisons and laboratories business" probably wouldn't go over well.

"Nothin, just makin conversation" Cody retorted.

"Well I don't know what she does, some sorta complicated government job" Anna said, lying through her teeth.

"Yea well, that woman scares me" Cody said with humor in his voice.

"Your such a wimp" Anna teased.

"Well at least I wasn't the one sreamin like a little girl over a harmless gardener snake" Cody teased back.

Anna punched his arm playfully, "Well let's get inside before dinner gets cold".

"Your auntie won't mind"? Cody asked hesitantly.

"Naw, I'm sure she'd love the company, she's been kinda down these past few days" Anna replied.

"Cool" was Cody's only reply.

* * *

Later that night Anna was brushing her freshly washed hair and getting ready for bed when she heard a soft knock on her door.

"Come in" she called, knowing it was Irene. She put down her brush and got under her covers and watched as Irene opened the door and made her way to the bed.

"What's up Auntie Irene" Anna asked once Irene was settled on the bed.

"Nothing dear, just lonely I guess" Irene answered softly.

"I noticed you've been sad the past few days, is it cuz mommas gone" Anna asked.

"Yes and no, I think I'm just feeling worried about your mother is all" Irene answered, giving Anna a sad smile.

Anna put away that strange feeling she got at having Raven be referred to as her mother and focused her attention on Irene. Irene was someone she truly considered family, she was kind, and sweet, and they would have these talks together almost every night, it was the only time she really got to open up about her feelings and no matter what she said Irene was just there to listen and guide her.

"Why are you worried, momma goes on these trips all the time, what's so different about this one"? Anna asked a little curious now as to what Raven was up to.

"So much, there's just so much at stake, if what I saw in my vision actually happens, well it's just not going to be good" Irene whimpered out, Anna could see the pure sadness written all over her face.

"What's going to happen" Anna asked quietly, getting a strange sense of foreboding.

"I can't tell you darling, I wish I could because this occurrence will change your life forever, it will change my life and Ravens and every mutant were trying to save" Irene said adding onto the strange feeling taking over the room.

"Auntie Irene, is this bad thing going to happen" Anna asked, fear beginning to seep into her.

"Yes" Irene cried out, "I think it is", tears were leaking out from under her glasses now.

"I'll be here for you Auntie Irene, no matter what bad thing happens, I promise" Anna said, tears almost slipping from her eyes as she grabbed her Aunt and hugged her tightly.

"I promise to child, I just don't think that I will be around to protect you when you'll really need it" Irene said again, crying into her dear child's shoulder.

"Don't say that Auntie Irene, let's just pretend, for now, that we'll always be able to take care of each other" Anna asked, trying to grasp onto any comfort she could get.

"Ok, we'll pretend, everything will be ok my sweet little Anna" Irene said quietly trying to comfort her child, wishing she hadn't broken down and frightened her little girl.

* * *

**So this chapter is a bit different, there's more inner dialogue and emotion, and this chapter sets up the new little arch within the story. Anyways not going into anymore detail than that, but I would really like to know what ya'll think of the new direction and style… so please R&R!!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to Marvel…**

**Chapter 10**

**Germany**

**December 1993**

Raven and Creed had just left the town of Oberammergau. They had been in Germany for two weeks, going from town to town and covering the vast expanse of the Bavarian Alps in search of Raven's son. Five years ago Raven had been living with a very rich man in the nearby city of Munich, but her dream came to an end when she gave birth to a baby boy in the form of blue demon. Raven and her new born baby were quickly run out of town, angry mobs of local residences and fascinated news reporters chased them deep into these very mountains were Raven was forced to brace the harsh terrain and wonder what to do with herself and the child. After a week of nearly starving and freezing, and getting turned down the need of shelter from the locals in the mountains because of her son's appearance, Raven became desperate. She came across an Abby in the middle of the freezing forest and set her mind to do what she knew would be the hardest moment in her life, give up her son, her first born, her precious blue baby. She made sure to bundle him up tightly from the harsh cold winds and loudly knocked on the ancient wooden doors three times before running back into the thick forest. She watched from her hiding place as a monk opened up the door and looked curiously down at the bundle before him. The monk gave out a loud gasp as he uncovered the babies face and almost dropped the bundle before regaining himself and quickly brought the baby into the Abby shutting the door behind him, and that was the last time Raven had seen her son.

Raven and Creed began their search at that Abby, the monks were leery about giving any information away, however Creed had grown impatient and grabbed the poor monk standing closest to him and threatened to snap the man's neck unless he got answers. The monks quickly opened up about the boy's whereabouts, or at least what they thought were his whereabouts. They said that when the boy was two they adopted him out to a local gypsy woman, Margali Szardos, who was willing to take him and raise him. So Raven and Creed traveled deeper into the mountains in search of this gypsy women who had her son, they finally came across a small cabin advertising cheap fortune telling and figured it must be where she lived, it was, but Raven's son wasn't there and hadn't been for a long time. With Creed's ever exuberant use of violence it didn't take long for Mistress Szardos to tell them what had happened to the young boy. Her fortune telling business wasn't going so well at the time and she had heard rumors of a demon boy living in the local Abby, she figured a mythical presence would bring in curious onlookers and an attractive sense of the Macomb to her place. She was right, the monks adopted the boy out to her and news traveled quickly throughout the mountain towns that the local gypsy housed the rumored demon boy, he was real and everyone went to see him. Then one day a wealthy family named Wagner came to see the demon boy, they were so impressed by the show that the little boy put on that they offered the gypsy woman a large sum of money if they could adopt them from her. Well Mistress Szardos had never seen so many zeroes in her life and didn't give two thoughts about disregarding their offer. Last summer she saw his demon face on the front of the local newspaper, apparently the Wagner's owned a traveling circus and the demon boy, whom they named Kurt, was their headlining act and even at his young age was now the greatest acrobat in all of Germany. She didn't know where they were now but she knew the last stop the circus had was in the town of Oberammergau.

Raven and Creed weren't long in the town of Oberammergau, the circus had been there just three months ago and apparently everyone was still talking about it, they were especially enthusiastic about Kurt Wagner, _the flying blue demon_, they called him. They eventually came across someone who knew someone who knew someone else whom was close to the Wagner family, and that they spent the winter months at their mountain home in the quaint town of Füssen training for the next season's circus tour.

So now Raven and Creed found themselves driving through the wintery mountains just miles away from the town of Füssen, from Raven's long lost son. She was nervous and she hoped it wasn't showing, Creed would never let that down if he knew. She didn't exactly know what she was going to do when she saw him, but this motherly instinct in her was driving her to see him, to talk to him, to know that he was ok and doing well and was loved by this family who took him in.

When they got into town it didn't take them long to figure out where exactly the famous Wagner family lived, so they got themselves a hotel nearby and came up with a plan. The next day Raven disguised herself as a reporter for the local newspaper, and by herself made her way up to the mansion at the top of the hill that belonged to the Wagner's. When she got to the gate a heavy German accent asked her what her business was, so Raven used her own perfect German to respond.

"I'm here to do an interview for the newspaper, everyone is really curious about how Kurt's winter training is going" She replied into the voice box at the gate.

"I will go ask if Master Kurt is allowed to do an interview Frau…?"

"Fraulein Seltsam" Raven answered without hesitation.

"Fraulein Seltsam, I will be back in just a moment" the faceless voice said back.

"Danke" Raven said politely. As she sat waiting in her rented car she reviewed the interview questions she would be asking Kurt, her son, the greatest acrobat in Germany and only five years old, she couldn't believe it.

"Fraulein Seltsam?"

"Yes, I'm here".

"The Wagner's are willing to let you have an interview with Master Kurt, please come in".

Raven's heart felt like it dropped into her stomach, this was it, in a matter of seconds she would be face to face with her dear son and it almost broke her heart to think that he would have no idea that she was his mother.

She pulled up to the front of the house were a valet was waiting to park her car for her. She handed him the keys and made her way up the stairs to the grand double doors in front of her. The doors opened up for her and there stood a butler waiting to take her to her son.

"Fraulein Seltsam please follow me" He said formally to her.

They made their way down to grand hallways filled with antiques and paintings framed in eloquently carved gold.

_He really has done well for himself, _Raven thought.

The butler opened up a glossy redwood double door and there in the middle of the room sitting on an antique chair was her son, Kurt.

He was dressed in a nice button up shirt and slacks and was wiggling his thumbs around nervously, he was the most precious thing Raven had seen in all her life.

"Master Wagner this is Fraulein Seltsam, she is her to interview you for the local paper" The butler informed young Kurt.

Kurt stood up and looked at Raven nervously, "Guten tag Fraulein Seltsam", Kurt said with all the manners that a five year old could possess.

"Guten tag Herr Wagner" Raven replied back, barley able to contain the smile on her face.

"Please sit" Kurt said pointing to the seat next to Raven.

"Well thank you" Raven said sitting in the stiff antique chair.

Once Kurt was seated as well Raven began the interview.

"So how do you like the circus life, last summer was your first tour wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was great, everyone is really nice and I had a fun time traveling and hearing the crowds cheer".

"That does sound fun, so how is your winter training going?"

"It's good, my trainers are teaching me all sorts of fun new tricks, next year's show will be much better".

And so it went on like this for an hour, mother and son reunited, except Raven was the only one who really knew how important this moment was. She finished her interview, shook Kurt's hand and made her way back to her car and back to the hotel where Creed was waiting, probably drunk and ready to get the hell out of Germany.

* * *

When Raven got back to the hotel she found Creed sitting at the wooden table near the window, cradling a bottle of expensive German schnapps and carving disturbing pictures into the table with his claws.

"Can we go now" He asked gruffly.

"Yes, tomorrow, we can leave tomorrow" Raven said exhaustedly throwing herself onto the bed.

"I'm ready to get the fuck out of this place" Creed complained, taking a large sip out of the bottle.

"Me to" Raven snapped back, she sat up and stole the bottle away from Creed and took a good long swig.

"That bad" Creed questioned, pulling out another full bottle from beneath the table.

"What does it matter to you Creed?"

"No need to be a bitch Raven, was just makin conversation".

"You making conversation? That's rich Creed, really" Raven said with a bitter laugh, taking another long hard drink.

"I'm really this close to slitting that pretty little throat of yours" Creed growled at her.

"You couldn't lay one fucking hand on me Creed and you know it".

"Keep pushing lady and see what happens".

"Push? Oh poor silly kitty cat, push is what I do best" Raven said coldly to him.

And at those words an epic battle unfolded in that hotel room, insults where abound and blood was drawn.. and then the unexpected happened, the fight turned into something intimate and almost feral.

The next morning the pair woke up, naked and covered in each other's blood, bruised and battered and the shock of what they had done showed plainly on their faces.

* * *

When Raven got out of the hotel shower she wrapped herself up in a towel, walked over to the mirror, wiped the fog off of the glass and gave herself a long hard look.

_How did that happen, what was I thinking, Irene had to have known about this, this must be why she was so mad, what do I do know, this has been the most fucked up trip I've ever been on._

Raven sighed loudly to herself; she would just have to deal with the situation as it came. She quickly got dressed and turned into human form.

When she exited the bathroom Creed was standing by the door, bags at his feet, and a sinister knowing smile on his face.

"Ya ready to go?" he asked

"Let's get the hell out of here" Raven replied, quickly grabbing her bag and leaving the horrid hotel room behind, Creed following behind her.

* * *

**Three Days Later**

**Mississippi**

"Anna, come here please" Irene called from the kitchen table.

"K" she heard Anna call from the next room where she was reading her guide on auto mechanics. Being at the brotherhood base and watching her teammates fix the broken down cars had interested Anna immensely, learning how to do such things herself had become her side hobby in recent weeks.

Anna loudly ran in to the kitchen where Irene was sitting and came to a halt right in front of her, "What's up Auntie Irene" Anna asked.

"Anna I want you to go up to your room" Irene stated bluntly.

"Why?"

"Because I want to talk to your mother privately when she gets home".

"Oh, is she coming home now?"

"Yes darling, any minute now, so hurry on up to your room ok"

"Ok Auntie Irene" Anna left the room without further argument.

Irene heard Anna run upstairs and then slam her door shut, she got up and made her way to the door to wait for Raven to walk in.

It took only a minute or so for her to hear the jeep pull up in the drive way and then the door open.

Raven was startled by Irene standing right in the doorway and almost gave out an undignified yelp, "Damn it Irene" she yelled out instead.

"We need to talk" Irene said sternly.

"Fuck" Raven said in an exhausted tone.

_She knows…. _Was the only thought running through Raven's head.

"So I guess I don't have to tell you how my trip to Germany went" Raven said almost defensively, she did feel horribly guilty about what had happened between her Creed and for the pain that Irene must be going through, however Raven's range of outward emotions were usually defensive in tense situations, this was going to be bad.

"No, I know exactly what happened", Irene said in a stone cold manner, "I'm just giving you the opportunity to explain yourself".

Raven gave out a huge sigh, "What is there to explain if you already know everything anyway, look I'm sorry about what happened with Creed ok, it just happened".

"No, not good enough, I need more than that, like why, what possessed you to do it Raven".

"I don't know ok, I was just out of my head at the moment, I can't begin to tell you what possessed me to do that, especially with Creed, I love Irene, I really do and if I could take it back I would" Raven left off lamely.

"Ok" and with that said response Irene started heading up stairs.

"Where are you going Irene?"

"I'll be staying in Anna's room tonight, please don't come in."

"Are you serious?"

"I need time to think Raven, please give me my space tonight."

So Irene disappeared upstairs and left Raven to contemplate her actions by herself, no fight, no declarations, nothing really solved, only the feelings of worry and desperation left to eat away at Raven throughout the long lonely night.

* * *

**I swear this story is actually focused on Rogue, I just need all these events with other characters to take place, everything circles around in the end… anyways these chapters are gonna be coming out faster, finally got a writing system down and a clear vision of where I want this story to go… and schools almost over which will give me lots of free time… yay!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to Marvel :(**

**Chapter 11**

**Mississippi**

**February 1994**

_Oh my god I'm gonna be sick… I mean I already was sick… but I think I'm gonna be sick again… THIS. IS. NOT. HAPPENING! _These were Raven's thoughts as she stared dumbfounded at the pink little plus sign before her. It mocked her, that damn pink plus sign, adding insult to injury, saying "hey I know you messed up buuuuut here is a permanent reminder".

Raven threw the pregnancy test across the bathroom and watched it clink harmlessly off the wall. She sank down onto the cold linoleum and for the first time in a long time managed to let a tear slip out.

_How could I let this happen?_

* * *

An hour later there was a small rapping on the door, interrupting Raven's self loathing.

" Hey mama are you ok?" Anna asked through the door.

Raven lifted her head from the floor, wiped the tears from her face and coughed to try to even out her voice, "Yes Anna I'm fine, what do you need?"

"Ah really have to pee".

"Damnit Anna cant it wait a minute?"

"Nooooo Ah really have to go, Ah'm doin the dance" Anna whined from behind the door.

Raven stood up angrily and whipped the door open, "For god sakes Anna! Here come in and go"!

Anna cautiously entered the bathroom and looked up at her frazzled mother, "Sorry Ah could just go somewhere else" she said nervously.

Raven gave her a quizzical look, "Like Where"?

"I don't know…. The river" Anna gave a sheepish smile.

"That's disgusting"!

Raven was about to leave the room when Anna asked "Hey what's this"?

Raven sighed slapping her palm to her face, "That is a pregnancy test".

"Whoa really… your havin a baby"?

"Yes Anna"

"Have you told Auntie Irene yet"?

"I…. no I haven't, although I'm sure she already knew" Raven replied bitterly.

"This is so cool mama Ah always wanted a lil brother or sister" Anna exclaimed excitedly, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Well I'm glad someone is happy, I'm going to go talk to your aunt… and would you PLEASE throw that thing away and wash your hands" Raven yelled before she left the room slamming the door behind her.

Anna tossed the plastic test into the trash and pumped her fist in the air with a loud excited "Yes"!

* * *

Raven threw her bedroom door open, "Irene why didn't you tell me"!

Irene didn't even look up from her spot on the desk, "I thought it would be a nice surprise for you darling" she replied with an edge in her voice.

"This isn't a joke Irene, how could you not have told me about this"!

"How could I? I don't think your in any position to interrogate me".

"This is no time to be petty, you do realize this changes everything, all our plans, everything we've been working for" Raven retorted in a somber tone.

Irene finally looked up from her work on the desk and turned to face Raven, "I know darling" she said with a sad smile.

Raven fell onto their bed dramatically and gave a loud sigh, "So what's going to happen now"?

"Many new things, I've been having visions almost every night for the past few weeks".

"Like what"?

"You know I'm not going to tell you, these visions are just like every other, some good and some bad. If I were to tell you what's going to happen with this child I know that you would do everything in your power to stop it".

"Well if something bad were to happen shouldn't it be my job as a mother to stop it"?

"No it's not, these fates can not be changed, you trying anything will lead to the exact same result, that's how this works, no matter what you do these events, good or bad, are going to happen".

"So then why not just tell me, if I can't do anything about it then why does it matter".

"Because if I told you the fate of this child… it just… you just shouldn't worry about it, let things just fall into place without having to be in control for once will you". With that Irene turned back to her work.

"Those are your journals aren't they" Raven asked from her spot on the bed.

"Yes they are, and don't you dare go snooping around for them later"!

"Don't know why you lecture me about such things when you know it's going to happen anyway".

"Well I know for a fact you wont find them anytime soon, either way you're still a stubborn woman who needs extra warning when you need to back off".

"Ok got it, I wont go looking for them ANYTIME SOOOOOOOON" Raven replied sarcastically.

Irene sighed, "So does Creed know yet"?

Raven rolled her eyes, "No, he left a few days ago, said he had to pay a visit to an old friend, or some cryptic shit like that".

"Are you going to tell him"?

"I don't know, he's not exactly the fatherly type, I highly doubt he would care, but then again I wouldn't mind if he just never came back".

"Yes, well life is never that easy".

"I guess that's your way of telling me I'm not getting off easy on this one".

"Well you know me darling; I'm just looking out for you".

"Mhhmm, such a caring and understanding woman I have here, how did I get so lucky" Raven said with another sarcastic eye roll.

"Just count your blessing dear, they are few and far between" Irene said sadly, going back to her never ending task of recounting her prophesies in her journal.

* * *

Anna was out back making one of her famous mud castles, each one bigger and messier then the last. She had been super excited ever since she learned of Raven's pregnancy, finally another kid to keep her company at the house.

_This is gonna be so cool, Ah can teach him everything Ah know, how to make tree forts, and how to catch frogs and me and him can just spend all day playin out side, or if it's a girl that could be cool too, just as long as she isn't a girly girl who wants to play with dolls all the time though, YUCK, Ah'll teach her to be just like me if it is a girl._

Anna's thoughts about her soon to be brother or sister were rudely interrupted by a big sticky mud pie thrown into her face, followed by the maniacal laughter of her best friend Cody.

"You are so dead!" she screamed, scraping the mud off her face.

"Ya gotta catch me first!" Cody yelled back, and then took off at a fast sprint.

"Coward", Anna said to herself, today was not the day to chase silly little boys around, there was too much to plan.

_Mud balls, will definitely have to teach him how to throw mud balls…_

* * *

**I suck, I suck, I suck, wow this only took over a year to update :( Ended up getting pregnant myself and guess what I named my darling daughter…. REMIE! Poor poor thing…. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Do Not Own **

**Six Years Later**

**July 2000**

Anna threw her front door open with a loud crack when it hit the wall, she stomped threw the house and made sure to make her steps extra thunderous going up the stairs to her room. Making it down the hall and to her bedroom door she absent mindedly grabbed for the doorknob and upon realizing her door was already wide open her anger boiled to an explosive point.

"God damn it Graydon! What the hell did I tell you about coming into my room"!

The startled 5 year old boy looked up from his perch of destruction on his big sisters floor in wide eyed horror. He had been contently ripping apart her many journals into a mountain of black and white confetti.

"Ummm hi sis, I … ummm … missed you" Graydon said trying to give his very livid older sister the ole puppy dog eyes routine.

"Is that so" Anna said kicking the door shut behind her and crossing her arms menacingly, "Ah guess ya missed me so much you felt the need to destroy all my precious thoughts, ya know as a way to rid yourself of my memory to ease your dispairin heart right"?

The little boy looked very confused and gave a nervous gulp ,"Ummm yep", was the only answer he could muster in this nerve racking state.

"Well then" Anna said, walking manacling closer to her fear ridden brother, "Ah guess well just have to remedy your troubled affliction".

"N..no it's ok, I'll just go back to my room".

Anna rushed the little boy before he could bolt to his own room, she tackled him to the ground, got him beneath the arms and gave him the tickle attack of his life.

"Anna Noooooo…. Hahaha… Stop it…. Hahaha…. Pweeze… Hahaha"

"Do you serrender"!

"Yes.. Hahahaha… Just.. haha… Let me… Hahaha Go"!

"Swear you'll never come in my room again… EVER"!

"Yes… Hahaha"!

"Swear on ya mommas grave"!

"What? Hahaha.. Yes…. Hahaha… Ok… I swear"!

Anna let Graydon go, he ran to the door for his life, tearing it open, and before he slammed the door behind him he turned back around to his sister and stuck his tongue out at her.

Anna in turn flipped him off.

Graydon gave a shocked look and unceremoniously yelled something about telling on her, then quickly ran away down the hall.

"Damn brat" Anna muttered to herself whilst blowing her disheveled hair from her face.

**Later That Night**

"Anna get your ass down here now"!

Anna heard her mothers fierce roar from the other end of the house and gave an exasperated sigh.

_So not in the mood, _Anna marched down the stairs with teenage angst dripping off her every move.

"What"? she answered to her mother when she came into the kitchen were her "family" was sitting.

Raven lifted an affronted eyebrow at her daughters brazen reply.

"I heard you were torturing your brother again"?

"Well maybe he had it comin"! Anna retorted contemptuously.

"He's just a child Anna, there's no need to give him offensive gestures, or swearing at him for that matter" Irene said from her seat at the kitchen table.

"Oh Ah'm sorry, Ah guess Ah should just give him complements and encouragement next time Ah find him destroying my journals"!

"Anna I didn't mean it like that" Irene said with a sigh.

"He destroyed my lifes work, and nobody cares"!

"Don't be such an over dramatic teenager Anna, it's unbecoming and no one wants to hear it" Raven said harshly back.

"Are you kidding me, why does he get away with everything, what cuz he's your kid and Ah'm just some adopted freak that you expect to bend to your ever whim"!

Raven pinch the space between her brows in frustration, "You know it's not like that, your older so we expect more from you".

"That's rich Raven, you've been expecting the world from me since Ah was a kid, You've been training me for mutant salvation since Ah can remember. Ah spend all day training with your Brotherhood of former god damn criminals, preparing for some fucking war that's apparently around the corner and all Ah want is to come home to not find my personal things being torn to shreads, is that too damn much to ask for" Anna yelled with water collecting in her eyes.

"How hard do I have to press upon you the importance of your training, I know you resent not getting to grow up normal like your little friend Cody, but guess what my darling daughter, you will never know a day of normal in your whole life and it's about damn time you get used to that idea." Raven raged back.

"Ah'm a teenage girl momma, why can't Ah just be that"?

"Because you're a mutant, nothing will ever be easy for you, you need to know how to fight, how to survive, you think your friend will still treat you like a human being if he ever found out what you were, people out there are afraid of us". Raven said with an almost sad edge to her voice.

"Ah'm not even a mutant yet, I don't look different, Ah can't do anything crazy yet, hell half the time Ah think ya'll are just lying to me so Ah can be just another one of your damn freedom fighters"!

"We would never lie to you about such a thing darling, you are a mutant and someday soon you realize the full extant of what that means" Irene said in her ever ominous tone.

"Someday soon huh, what's that spose to mean, that Ah'm gonna turn into a damn freak like you two tomorrow, no thanks, Ah think Ah'll pass." Anna said bitterly.

Raven's eyes filled with rage and before she could think she slapped Anna hard across her face.

"Don't you ever talk to me or Irene like that again, you are what you are and nothing will ever change that".

Anna's eyes swelled with tears as she put a hand up to the red mark on her cheek.

"Ah hate you" Anna said softly.

"Don't talk to me that way, I'm your mother".

"Your not my mother" amd with that Anna left the room.

"Well that could have gone better" Irene said.

"Please tell me I wasn't like that at her age" Raven replied.

"I think we all were dear, she will get over it".

"Yea well, she's gonna have a damn big attitude adjustment when her powers come in".

"That she will, but until then, maybe we should take it easy on her, she has such little time left to be3 a regular girl".

"No, she's gonna train harder, no need letting her have something she will never have again".

Irene just dropped her head sullenly at Raven's final words.

**Two months later**

**September 2000**

The two friends walked casually along the banks of their beloved river.

"Sorry Ah ditched ya all summer" Cody said, hands in his pocket, blonde hair blowing out of place in the warm breeze.

"It's cool", anna said, "How was New Orleans"?

"Sooooo cool, lot's of underage mischief, loooooots of hot girls" Cody replied giving Anna a wink.

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, like you would do anything".

Cody looked affronted, "Hey Ah'v done plenty of stuff".

"Ha! Yea right, since when did you turn into such a ladies man"?

"Uh since my voice dropped and Ah stopped wearin Spiderman t-shirts".

"Oh ok, so wheres your harem of adoring floozies"?

"Screw you", Cody bit back good humouredly, "So how was your summer"?

"Lame, had a blow out with my momma awhile back, things have been kinda on edge since then".

"Not even surprised" Cody said giving his friend a small smile, "Your mom's kind of a bitch".

"Tell me about it"

"And all those freaks she hangs out with"

Anna winced at the word "freaks", "More like thugs, thieves and drunks", she replied back.

"Seriously, doesn't she like work for the government or something, how does she get away with hanging out with all those hooligans"?

"Ah don't wanna talk about it", Anna said.

"Maybe she's a government informant", Cody said with a conspiratorial look in his eyes.

"Ha! Ah think you may be on to something my friend". Anna said with some humor returning to her voice.

The two friends made it to their favorite tree swing, Anna sat down and Cody started pushing her lightly both enjoying the view of the sun setting over the water.

"Wanna hear a secret" Cody asked.

"Always" Anna replied with a smile.

"Ah kissed a girl when Ah was away"

"No you didn't"!

"Yes Ah did, tongue and everything"!

"Gross"

"It was amazing"

"How could having someone else's tongue in your mouth be amazing"?

"Ah don't know it just was, jeez haven't you kissed anyone yet"?

"What… No.. why would Ah want to do that"? Anna said nervously.

"Uh because it's fun".

"Yea right" Anna said with a huff.

And in one glorious movement Cody twisted the swing around so that Anna was facing him and planted a big wet one right on her virgin lips.

After the initial shock, Anna found that she enjoyed the feeling and began to kiss him back. Their hands started to tussle each others hair and sounds of pleasure escaped their throats. It was the most beautiful moment Anna had ever known, and it was to be her last for a very long time.

A few glorious moments later Anna's world came crashing down, Cody's grasp on her became tighter and the sounds coming from his throat were now muffled expressions of pain.

His grip loosened, and he finally was able to push Anna off, collapsing to a heap of contorting spasms on the ground.

"Oh my god, Cody what's wrong" Anna yelled kneeling down beside him and grabbing his hand. He didn't answer, he just grew redder as the seizure over took him until finally he closed his eyes and went still.

Anna crying in terror got up and ran back to her house as fast as her shaking legs could take her.

She rushed through her front door, ran into the kitchen, and with a look of wild horror that made both her parents jump from their seats, she said, "Get help! Somethings happened to Cody".


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Bayville, New York**

**September 2000**

Charles Xavier, the founder of the fledgling Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, was going about his nightly ritual of searching the world for young mutants in need of help to take advantage of his schools services. More importantly than that, to possibly join his more crucial pet project of mutant vigilantes, those who would want to help and protect their mutant brethren. At the moment he had just five students, just five to fill up a fully equipped mansion on a sprawling water front estate. He was desperately in need of a full house and a full team. He spent most nights searching through the minds of every mutant on earth on his greatest invention, Cerebro, a product of pure genius built by him and his once partner Erik Lehnsherr. Erik, a soar spot for him indeed, the world mostly knows him as Magneto, a true terrorist if ever there was one, but a villain who stands firm on his beliefs that he's doing the right thing for his people. Erik, like himself, was also in the process of building a team of mutant fighters, but he knew that Erik's team would go to the extremes to get what they wanted, including hurting or even killing innocent humans in his quest for mutant domination. That's why for Charles, amassing a large and unique team was imperative, not only to help mutants but to help those innocent humans who would be caught in the cross fires of war.

Quietly he sat there, searching, waiting to come across a youth in need, the only true problem with his invention was that a mutant had to use their power to be picked up on Cerebro's radar. His head bent, hands clasped together almost in prayer, and there it was, a faint scream at first, but as the mutants power began to gain strength the screaming became louder, he found her, a young women in terrible distress on the banks of the mighty Mississippi. Xavier quickly logged her location and disabled himself from Cerebro.

_Storm, Logan, make the team ready, your heading to Mississppi: _Charles sent out the message to his team leaders and made his way to the jet hanger.

* * *

**Mississippi**

In the thick darkness off the bank of the river, Anna and Raven made their way to Cody's prone body. Anna still in tears was trying to explain to her very excited adoptive mother what had happened to her poor friend. She was having difficulty, as her memories of the event were meshing and mixing with those of Cody's, putting Anna into a state of confusion and distress that she had never known before. Her speaking was even now becoming erratic, switching from her sorrowful tones, to those of a very frightened Cody trying to figure out what was going on with him. Raven was starting to pick up on the different tones, and as bad as she felt for her young daughter gaining her powers in such circumstances she couldn't hide her excitement, like the excitement and pride a mother feels when their baby takes their first step or says their first word.

"Please calm yourself Anna and explain to me again what happened"? Raven asked for the hundredth time in so many minutes.

"We were at the swing, a..and he kissed me momma, he j..just kissed me outa no where, then everything got fuzzy, Ah could hear his thoughts, feel his f..feelings, Ah could even see through his eyes, a..and then he collapsed, w..went unconscious or somthin" Anna tried to explain as calmly as possible.

"Amazing", Raven said to herself, "That's why Irene made you cover up, it must be through skin contact, you were able to become him or something through skin contact".

"What"? Anna asked with a big sniffle.

"Never mind lets just find the boy before anyone else does".

"Just up here momma, at the tree swing" Anna said starting to rush to where her friend lay, alone and helpless.

_So now Im momma again, _Raven thought with a small smile and shake of her head.

The two women saw the outline of the boy in the darkness and ran over to his prone body, the grass around him smoothed down from his convulsions and dirt smeared across his body in patches.

"Oh my god momma is he ok" Anna asked worriedly.

Raven knelt down next to the boy and put her fingers on his throat, finding a small but erratic pulse, she then put her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating and felt his light breathing. Satisfied with his vitals, she raised her hand up and gave poor Cody a striking smack on the face.

"Momma what the hell"!

"Damn he's not waking up", Raven then took the boy by the collar of the shirt and started to shake his still body as hard as she could.

"Stop it, stop doing that to me you bitch" Anna yelled in that strange tone of voice and then with a force not her own pushed Raven away from the body, she then fell to her knees next to the body and started sobbing, "What happened to me, what the hell is going on, am ah dead, is this one of those outer body things, what .. w..what", and then the sobbing continued.

Raven picking herself up of the ground looked at her young daughter in complete confusion, _Must be that damn boy again, _she grabbed Anna by the arm and pulled her up, then began to shake her weeping daughter.

"Anna snap out of it, can you hear me, take control and snap out of it damn it" !

Anna looked up at her mother then, the animosity against her gone, "Ah don't know what's going on with me, Ah can't stop him from taking over, help us momma please".

"We need to get him to the hospital know, you go run back to the house and call an ambulance, I'll stay with him, damn, call his parents to, we need to come up with a story about how this happened".

Anna shook her head in agreement and then took off at full speed for the house.

When her daughter was out of sight, Raven sat down next to the body Indian style, trying to formulate an excuse for the boys condition, she knew they couldn't stay in town, the doctors won't be able to find anything wrong with him, or anything normal that's wrong with him, and no doubt his parents will execute their anger on to Anna and her "strange family". She needed to get a hold of her old allies up north as soon as possible.

* * *

Anna ran as fast as she could, which was much faster then she could ever remember moving, _This must be Cody, _she thought. When she made into her home she ran straight for the phone and dialed 911, after explaining to the dispatcher about her hurt friend, she then dialed Cody's parents number trying to calm herself for a very nasty phone call. His parents weren't a very big fan of hers, and they out right despised her family, they knew something was wrong with her entire clan and they just simply tolerated her sons friendship with her.

"Ms. Robbins, it's Anna, Cody's hurt.. s..something happened to him, no ah don't know what, he just fell over unconscious… by the river at the rope swing… yes I called their on their way… yes my mother is with him… yes just hurry the ambulance will be there soon".

After hung up Anna slammed the phone back on the rocker and clung her head as she heard Cody yelling at to his mother in the forefront of her mind, She fell to the floor and began weeping again as she heard the desperate yelling of her best friend stuck in her mind.

"Anna sweety, what's wrong, how can I help you"? Said the calming voice of Irene. The blind woman found Anna's place on the floor with frightening ease and sat beside her, putting her comforting arms around the frazzled young woman.

"Ah can hear him yelling auntie, he's so frightened and confused, Ah can't bare it", Anna said through her tears.

"I know, darling, it will pass, just give it time" Irene said.

"Why did'nt ya tell me it would be like this" Anna asked quietly.

"It's no way to live darling, not living because you know what the future holds, it can destroy people, I would never put so much on you".

"No, but you would give me vague details, like the war and that I would get powers, not telling me anything more than is necessary to you and mommas plans, is that right" Anna said starting to become angry.

"Anna it's not like that" Irene stated, taken aback by Anna's change in temper, "We told you only what you needed to know so that you could be prepared, as a precaution".

"A precaution, knowing that my powers would hurt my best friend would have been a great precaution to inform me of", Anna said sharply, she disentangled herself from her aunt and stood up.

"Where are you going child"?

"Don't act like you don't know Irene, Ah'm getting the hell out of here, Ah cant take it anymore, Ah cant take this deceitful paranoid premonition bullshit anymore, Ah'm done"!

And with that Anna ran up to her room to pack her bags, she was no longer willing to be a pawn in her so called guardians game, her best friend was injured, and who knew if he would make it out alive, she knew they could have prevented all this pain. She felt bad about leaving behind her comatose friend, but she was sure that she wouldn't be put on his visitors list, and sooner or later his parents would discover the truth that it was her who put him in the hospital.

* * *

With her bags packed, Anna headed back down stairs, she could here Raven talking on the phone with someone, and when she heard her name mentioned she couldn't resist the urge to creep a bit closer to find out what kind of plans she was making for her now.

"It's brilliant Erik, her powers are like nothing Iv ever seen before…. Yes by touch …. It's like she became him… yes… no she said she could hear his thought, feel his feelings, see through his eyes… yes… there's more, when she ran back to the house she moved like Iv never seen her move before… well he was a football player … yes when she pushed me it was with a force that no teenage girl can posses… well just think Erik… if the boy was a mutant… exactly it's very possible that she could copy others powers… think of the possibilities".

Anna listening to this concept began to think about the possibilities herself; could she really gain the powers of other mutants, is that why she moved with such force that she never had before? She couldn't think about it for to long, she needed to get out before Raven could give her to this Erik person, or whatever secret plan they were formulating ruined her life any further.

Anna quietly snuck out of her house and never looked back, she also never got to her the most important part of Raven's conversation.

"Listen Erik, Irene told me that Anna's already gone, she's on her own now… all she said was headed west.. no the girl doesn't have a destination… if you want her just start heading that way… green eyes.. brown hair with a white stripe in the front, wearing gloves in hot weather, she sticks out in a crowed.. yes.. just get her ok.. ill be up north as soon as I can… yes as soon as I can ok I have things that need to be taken care of down here first.. ok.. we'll speak soon… let me know when you have her". Raven hung up the phone and sat alone in her study, she was fighting the urge to go after her daughter but knew that Erik finding the girl was the best thing for her.

* * *

Anna made a detour to the Brotherhood training camp, she needed supplies and she needed money, and she knew the one person who could help her would be there.

She pushed open the heavy garage door and found him right where she knew he would be, good ole Black Tom, sitting at his work shop, probably putting together one of infamous explosive devices.

"Hey"! Anna called from the door.

Tom looked up a bit surprised by the sudden intrusion, when he saw Anna he gave her a smile, "Weel, Weel , if it isn't the lil Rogue herself, how are ya lass"? he said in his thick Irish accent.

"Ah'm leavin" Anna stated flat out.

"Oh, an where ya goin"?

"Just away, my powers came in tonight; Ah hurt someone, Ah need to leave".

"Weel that's a good nuff excuse if I ever heard one"

"Ya, look Ah need your help".

"Wha kinda help"?

"Ah need supplies and money".

"An why would I do that for my bosses daughter"?

"Because out of everyone here you were always the least awful to me", Anna said with a slight smile.

"Is that your round about teenage way of sayin ya like me"?

"Ah guess, so are ya gonna help me"?

"How could I after that beautiful testament o true love", Tom said hand over his heart.

Anna rolled her eyes at his playfulness then crossed her arms, cocked her hip and gave him a look of complete impatience.

"Like that is it? Alright give me a minute aye".

Anna let out a sigh of relief, "Thanks, didn't really have anyone else to go to".

Tom took Anna's bag and took it over to his shelf of trinkets, trying to pick out what exactly a runaway teen would need,

"So may I asked wha happened"?

"Ah don't want to talk about it".

"Fair enough, how bout ya powers, what did ya get"? Tom asked good humouredly.

"It's hard to describe, Ah just touched someone and it's like Ah was them, there thoughts, feelings, memories, Ah could even see what he was seein, by the way it's very disconcerting to see yourself through someone else's eyes".

Tom having filled up the bag with items he was sure she would need, zipped it up and handed it back to Anna, he then took her gloved hand in his, "So that's why those two mischievous Mary's always made ya wear these"?

"Yea".

"That's quite a power ya have there".

"Ah over heard Mystique talking to someone about how I might even be able to get other mutants powers if Ah touch them".

"Wouldn't that be something".

"Yea".

Tom led her over to the door, her hand still in his, "Weel then my young Rogue, here's your last bit o advise from ya uncle Tom, watch your back. Ya have an extraordinary power, and people will want to take advantage of one so powerful. Never ever let anyone make ya do something tha ya don't want, because those seeking people like you will do whatever it takes to wield such power".

"Ok", Anna said, tears welling back up in her eyes.

"Good, now get gone with ya, before that crazy mum of yours comes lookin", and with that Tom pushed her out the door and to an unknown future.

* * *

**The X-Jet**

"Listen up", the gruff voice of The Wolverine called from the front of the jet, stalling all conversation from the other passengers, " Were gonna be landing in a few minutes here, this kid is scared and probably running, so we land at her last known location and then spread out, any questions"?

"What does the target look like", asked the teenage boy known as Cyclops.

"She's not a target Cyke, she's a scared kid who needs are help, fifteen years old, green eyes, brown hair, white bangs, got it".

"What are her powers"? Asked the class beauty known as Jean Grey.

"Don't know yet Red, Charles said it had something to do with touch, so just stay away from skin contact until we know what's going on".

"Oooo I have a question" the blue teenage boy known as Nightcrawler said, enthusiastically raising his hand.

Wolverine sighed, "Yes Elf".

"Should I turn on my image inducer"? he asked in his thick German accent.

"No kid, she needs people to relate to, seeing others with abilities like hers should make her more forth coming".

Nightcrawler shook his head in understanding.

"Where coming up on the landing zone", Stated the weather goddess known as Storm at the wheel of the jet.

"Um Mr. Logan it looks like we may have a problem", said a perky voice from the back of the jet.

"What have I told you about using my real name on missions Halfpint", the Wolverine lectured while heading over to where the concerned looking girl known as Shadowcat was sitting.

'What's up" he asked her.

Shadowcat pointed out the window, "Looks like there's an army of cops and ambulances down there".

"Damn", Wolverine stomped back down the jet to Storm, "We need a new landing spot, looks like are girl is in more trouble than we thought".

"There was a baseball field a few miles back, it looked empty", Storm asked her co- team leader.

"Perfect, let's go".

"So what's the plan now man", asked the young man known as Spyke.

"Same plan, new location… man" Said Wolverine, giving the young man the raised eyebrow of displeasure.

Spyke just gulped and went back to looking out his window.

"All right everyone, buckle up, where landing", Storm called out.

The jet landed with ease in the middle of the field, the doors opened a few seconds later and the small band of mutants known as the X-men spread out to look for their fellow mutant.

* * *

**A few miles away**

Erik Lehnsherr, the infamous and mostly misunderstood mutant known as Magneto, was scanning the Mississippi landscape from his airborne metal pod in the sky. If Mystique was right about this girls unbelievable powers then he needed to secure her to his team, and fast, before anyone else found out about this powerful young girl. He had been building quite the team of young mutant runaways and hoodlums, his own branch of the Brotherhood up in New York state, and he needed someone with training and experience. Mystiques daughter would be all that and more, if he knew his ex flame Raven at all, and he did, this girl would be able to handle any situation and be able to lead his ragamuffin team into the victorious side of war.

There she was, he caught sight of a pure white streak, walking quickly past an old cemetery. Being quite the one for a good entrance, Magneto landed his metal orb right in front of the young girl.

Anna stopped in her tracks, and watched as tall middle aged man in a silly helmet, walked out of a metal flying thing, straight out of a science fiction book.

"What the fuck" she said to herself. Luckily for Anna's already fragile state, she had grown up around mutants and stuck around longer than most when encountering the strange.

"My dear Rogue, it is you I hope"? Magneto said casually while closing the distance between them.

"Who the hell are you"? Anna asked while putting her tough face on.

"My name is Magneto, Im a mutant like you, and I heard you were in trouble".

"Heard? From who? Ohh Ah get it, your Erik aren't you"?

"Erik Lehnsherr, yes, I suppose your mother told you about me".

"No, Ah just over heard her talking to someone named Erik before Ah ran off".

"Well then we are no longer strangers, surely you must know then that Im hear to help you".

"Like Ah believe that, that woman's done nothing but use me all my life, and now she sends you after me, all that means to me is bad news".

"Not really my dear girl, she does want what's best for you despite her motherly failings, Im just here to help you, give you a safe place to stay, with others like yourself."

"Why should Ah trust what you say"?

"Do you have any other choice, you're a young girl with no home and no prospects, in a world were people despise you simply for being different, it's not going to be an easy life out here on the streets".

"So is this like a mutant shelter or something"?

"Not even close, it's actually a Brotherhood, something your familiar with".

"Your kiddin right, Ah just left the damn Brotherhood and now you want me to go to another one, sounds like a bad deal".

"It's true, but I need someone to train them, someone with experience and expertise, your mother wouldn't be there, you would be there leader, in my absentia of course".

"Leader huh" Anna almost liked that sound of that, but before she could make her decision they were interrupted by a gruff yell.

"Get away from the girl Magneto"! The Wolverine yelled, he came marching out of the mist of the graveyard, claws extended, this sight truly frightened Anna.

Magneto pulled Anna's arm hard and turned her to face him, "Choose now child, that man is after you, will you come with me or should I leave you to your fate with that animal".

Anna looking back at the terrible figure coming at her fast and made up her mind, "Yes, get me outa here".

Erik smiled, extended his hand and the metal orb formed over them fast as lightning, inside the protective metal they heard the slashing of metal on metal then the sensation of taking off into the sky.

* * *

Wolverine, jumped off the metal orb before they took off to high, landed in a tuck and roll position and slammed his fist into the ground, "Damn"!

"Wolverine what happened"! he heard Cyclops yell behind him.

"Magneto took her before I could get close to them", he said standing up and putting his claws away.

The whole team was with him now, each looking horrified at the prospect of the poor scared girl now kidnapped by their greatest rival.

"What do we do now Mr. Logan"? Shadowcat asked.

"We go home, we track her down and we get her away from that bastard".

"Poor child" Storm said shaking her head in compassion, "Alright team, lets get back home and create a new plan, the faster we get her away from that man the better".

The team walked sullenly back to the jet, knowing that they had failed in there simple mission, and another poor young mutant was still in danger.

"

.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own : ( **

**Bayville, New York**

**September 2000**

_This is so uncomfortable, and cramped, and how many times was I told to never get into some strangers metal orb… well ok to just leave with a stranger, especially if that stranger is a friend of my mothers.. wait scratch that.. ex boyfriend or something… gross… holly fuck balls I'm stupid… WORST NIGHT EVER!_

These were Anna's thoughts as she uncomfortably twiddled her thumbs in Magneto's cramped flying orb from hell. They had been in the air for almost an hour, him asking polite questions and her trying to politely avoid answering them.

"We should be there soon" Erik said.

"Cool" Anna replied dully giving a slight nod of the head.

"I'm sorry about the possible state of the house; I've left my son and the other boys to their own devices for a few days now".

"Your son works for you"?

"Yes, Pietro, he's a year older than you I believe".

"That's cool, my mommas group was all older than me, like waaay old".

Erik gave a polite smile, he hated how the younger generations spoke, no elegance as far as he was concerned.

"Sooo what does he do"?

Erik twitched a little at her use of the word "so", but answered none the less, he was still trying to get more information out of the girl, and if she was willing to talk he would put up with idiosyncrasies.

"He has super human speed, he's almost capable of running at the speed of sound, the Brotherhood boys call him Quicksilver".

"Impressive, what about the others, what can they do"?

"Introductions will be made shortly my dear, were about to land".

Magneto stood from his spot in the orb, he lifted his hands up in an almost comical superhero move and Anna felt the orb jerk still. With nothing to hold onto she just closed her eyes as she felt the orb drop to the ground, and felt the gravity pull in the pit of her stomach.

For the incredible speed they picked up dropping out of the sky, the landing was very gentle. Anna stood up, legs a bit wobbly from the ride, and from her nerves having gone into full over drive from the nights events.

The orb opened up, it was still dark out and all Anna could make out was the outline of an old fashioned house, a few of the windows lit up from the inside lights.

"Where are we", she asked shakily jumping out of the orb.

"Bayville, New York. Welcome to your new home young Rogue".

"Wow, New York really"? Anna looked a little shocked; she couldn't remember ever being so far from home before.

"Well come on girl, lets get you settled, we need to talk over your purpose here, what your job is, your schooling and such other details".

"You're gonna let me go back to school"!

"Yes, is that a problem" Erik answered back starting to get irritated.

"No, it's just Ah haven't been to school in years", Anna said looking a little ashamed.

"I'm sure Mystique had her reasons" Erik said, feeling uncomfortable with the Rogue's emotional reaction to the news.

He started walking towards the house and bid Anna to follow. Walking up the front porch Anna noticed the considerable creaking of the floor boards, and the tattered looking state of the railings and door.

_Home sweet home, _she thought, Magneto opened the door and Anna crossed the threshold.

* * *

"Gentlemen, we have a guest, make your selves present" Erik called into the house, for the moment void of any signs of life.

They came from every direction of the house, some more quickly and some more slowly then others, all different sizes and all different attitudes.

Magneto came to stand beside Rogue and gave an elaborate hand gesture in her direction.

"Boys, this is your new teammate, Rogue".

Anna waved at them awkwardly, "Hi", she said with a uncomfortable smile.

All four boys looked her over with appreciation, the guy with stereotypical bad boy 80's look extended his hand to her, "Hey I'm Lance, everyone calls me Avalanche", he said with politeness that didn't match his appearance.

Anna backed away from his extended hand, still shook in up from her experience earlier with Cody she opted out of the friendly handshake.

"Why do they call you Avalanche" She asked trying to stop the tension she felt, and trying not to come off as unfriendly.

Lance looked a little taken a back from her resistance to his welcoming gesture, but he had met his share of weird folk since running away to join The Brotherhood.

"I can cause earthquakes, you could say I can rock your world", he said in a flirtatious tone that only teenage boys could muster up after being slightly rejected by a pretty girl.

Anna rolled her eyes but gave him a slight smile back, "Cool" she responded, trying to give off the impression that his flirtation hadn't affected her.

"Thank you Mr. Alvers", Magneto said with sigh, "I'll take over the introductions from here".

The boys looked slightly disappointed that they couldn't impress the hot chick with sexual overtones describing their powers, so each opted to just stand their trying to look as manly and impressive as they could.

"This is Todd Tolansky, he is called Toad in mutant circles, the name should tell you all you need to know about his.. abilities", Erik said giving Todd a disgusted once over.

Anna looked at the dirty teenage boy in front of her and could only imagine the unpleasant possibilities the name conjured, Todd himself looked dejected from the treatment of his boss, and she almost felt sorry for him.

"This is Fred Dukes, the Blob", Erik said gesturing to human tank in front of them. "He's the power house here, virtually unstoppable", he said with some pride in his voice.

"And this my dear is, Pietro, my son", Erik said pointing to the white haired youth in front of them.

Pietro rushed in front of her with a startling speed that made Anna jump back when he appeared in front of her like a blur.

He positioned himself in front of her in what she supposed was meant to be a cool guy pose, but only came off as purely lame male arrogance.

"Hey" Pietro said, giving her a wink, "What about you beautiful, name, powers, all that jazz".

Anna gave him an exaggeratedly creeped out look, but quickly remembered he was the bosses son and gave him her most charming smile.

"Name's Rogue" she said, giving them her best saucy southern belle act.

"Just Rogue"? Pietro asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Yea just Rogue"

"Mysterious, I like that in a girl" Pietro replied back, giving her another wink.

Anna quickly fought the urge to smack him.

Lance rolled his eyes and pushed Pietro out of the way, "So what are your powers Rogue"?

"Ah don't really know yet, just got em today actually" Anna said with a tone of sadness in her voice.

"Wow really, recruited on your first day as a mutie, you must be badass yo" said the Toad.

"Ah guess".

Magneto seeing that the boys were beginning to suffocate the poor girl, diffused the situation by making the boys bring her bag up to her room and making presentable for a young lady. They all rushed off in a herd of testosterone filled competition.

"Well Rogue, if you will please come with me, we have much to discuss".

Anna followed Magneto through the dingy house, arriving in a somewhat hospitable office in the back of the house.

She took a seat in front of the impressive desk that was centered in the small room. Erik taking his seat behind the desk. Employer and employee about to discuss business.

"Well Rogue what do you think"?

"This place is a rat trap" Anna decided honesty was best with this man, he wasn't looking for a sweet southern belle, he wanted the Rogue, who was trained all her life by the hardass known ass Mystique.

Magneto gave a small smile, "Luxuries have to be earned, this group is new and they have yet to prove their worth to me".

"So Ah guess this is were Ah come in, you want me to train these boys for ya, but what exactly am Ah training them for"?

"War my dear Rogue, more mutants are coming out, more being wrongfully imprisoned, or disappeared completely by the governments hand, but surely you already knew that".

"Ah'v heard about this war all my life, never seen or heard anything that made me believe it though".

"Well you are still just a child, when was the last time you left your little Eden next to the river, surly one with your skills had to have gone out on your mothers mercenary missions"?

Anna looked a little taken back by that remark, he was of course right, she had never actually gone out on a mission, she had never seen for herself the plight of the mutant, only heard stories, but over the years they turned into far off fairy tales in her mind.

"So whats your deal than, what exactly do you want me to do"? she said covering up her ignorance with attitude.

"Like I said, I need you to train these boys, teach them everything you know, we need soldiers Rogue. The world will quickly turn against us once we have become more mainstream, there is no doubt in my mind that the humans will react with fear to our superior race".

Magneto stood then, getting more passionate in his mission statement, he began passing the small space.

"We must be ready Rogue, we must rise together, and stand up for our rights. We our being treated like animals by our own government, and I cannot allow such atrocities to happen. My objective is to free those who are enslaved, and use what ever force possible to stop the same horrors from happening to our kind, do you understand"?

"Of course, Ah'v heard the same speech from Mystique all my life".

"Good", Magneto sat back in his chair, "I will be honest with you Rogue, I'm willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means violence, are you prepared for that"?

"Been prepared for along time" Anna said, trying to act cool and collected, when she was most certainly screaming on the inside, getting her powers, putting her best friend in a coma, running away from home, and now sitting in a room with a flesh and blood revolutionary fighter was beginning to take its toll on her nerves again.

"I will be honest with you young Rogue, I need you to be my second here, your well trained to take on the position, you will need to lead these boys in my absence, which will be quite frequent".

"Why is that" she asked softly, her head was swimming, everything was turning hazy and she was having a hard time taking in the enormity of the situation she had gotten herself into, but somewhere deep down she felt a tingle of pride in herself that this reckoning force of a man was putting so much faith in her abilities.

"I'm putting together a secondary team, traveling the world, looking for the best of the best if you will, a team that I would like you to join if you prove your merits here".

"Is that so" she said, again distantly, this was a lot, this was major, this was big time, this was the big league, and she was being thrown right into the middle of it. At the moment she couldn't have wished harder for Irene to be at her side, giving her vague comforting statements that fate was falling into place and she was right where she was suppose to be. That wasn't the case though; it was now up to her to decide if this was where her fate led, if this is the man she is suppose to follow. It was all just too much.

"Of course my young Rogue, your powers are extraordinary from what I've gathered through your mother, a girl with your gifts could most certainly be a major player in events that our about to unfold".

There it was, the warning Black Tom gave her not but a few hours ago flashed through her mind, her powers, whatever they may be were already proving to be a pawn piece for the leaders of this mutant revolution that was still taking place behind the scenes of major world events. She could either run away now into an uncertain future or stick around with this man who obviously had high standards of her person. At the moment the choice wasn't hard.

"When do Ah start".

"Immediately, I will enroll you into the local high school tomorrow, no reason to skip getting a proper education, it is after all the best way for one to get a head in this world".

"And my powers, everyone seems to have a much better understanding of them then Ah do"?

"From what your mother described it seems that through touch you have the ability to absorb the thoughts and abilities of others, quite a gift if given the proper training to harness such power, you could have the ability to use any power at will of your fellow mutants, imagine Rogue, all the power you could wield just from a simple touch" Magneto said almost wistfully.

"But Cody, he was left almost dead, from just a few moments of touching me, it doesn't sound like much of a gift", Anna replied back with an edge of sadness in her voice.

"An unfortunate side effect yes, and one you will have to experiment with more, keep the future in mind always young Rogue, the possibility of having full control of those powers should be your goal".

Anna nodded her head in acknowledgment.

Magneto stood up, walked to the door and opened it, gesturing for her to go first.

Anna got up and walked out the door.

"Let me show you to your room, it's been a long night for you, and you have much to accomplish here starting first thing tomorrow".

Again Anna just nodded her head in agreement, the overwhelming tiredness creeping up on her at the mention of a bed.

They walked silently up the stairs and down the dark hallway, hers was the last door, the room itself was dark and gloomy and a bit drafty.

Before being left on her own, Anna turned to Magneto.

"Who was that man"? She asked, the memory of the strange feral best coming at her through the fog popping into her head.

"That was the Wolverine, he's a killer of the highest degree, more animal than man". Erik replied some bitterness in his voice.

"Why was he after me"?

"He works for an old associate of mine, he runs a team called the X-men and the wolverine leads the group, be weary of them Rogue, they desire to you use you for your gifts".

"Like you"? The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Yes Rogue, like me" Erik replied back honestly.

And with that he quietly shut the door behind him.

Anna looked around at her gloomy surroundings, the bed, however grungy looking was still inviting to her weary spirits.

She fell into her bed, turned of her lamp and lay in the quiet darkness, tears now flowing freely down her face. She was in a calm state of shock, she was sure of it. So she cried, for her old life, for Irene who had always been kind if not always honest, and even for her mother, the only mother she had ever known. Mostly she cried for Cody, her dearest friend, who at this moment was fighting for his life all because of her "gift". In that desperate heart breaking moment she vowed to never get close to anyone again. She would never ever feel this pain over another person, not if she could hurt them this badly from something as beautiful as a kiss.

* * *

She woke up early in the morning, the sun beating down on her in all it's bright annoying glory. There was also a voice yelling at her from behind the door as well. She had half a mind to tell them off but remembered where she was and didn't want to start trouble on her first day as new member of this secondary Brotherhood.

"Hey Rogue, get up, we gotta go to school"! She heard Lance yell in between poundings on the door.

"Ah'm up"! She yelled back while throwing a pillow at the door, completely missing the dramatic affect she was looking for.

"Well hurry up miss attitude you still gotta register, I'm not gonna wait all day for you got it"!

"Ah get it! Now leave me alone for five damn minutes so Ah can get ready"!

"Five minutes, that's it, then I leave without you"!

"Holy shit, just leave me alone, Ah'll be there when Ah get there"!

"Fine jeez"!

Anna through her remaining pillow at the irritating voice behind the door.

* * *

Ten minutes later Anna defiantly sauntered down the stairs, dressed to impress in nothing more then hole ridden skin tight jeans, an old band t-shirt and plain black gloves. The boys all stared at their new gorgeous leader.

Lance however, quickly changed his attitude and gave an exasperated sigh of impatience, "Took you long enough".

Anna simply flipped her hair behind her shoulder and walked past him with all the angst she could muster. The boy's quickly following suit.

The rag tag group of teenagers piled into Lance's run down jeep, Anna taking the front passenger seat.

"Ah though Magneto was suppose to sign me up or something"?

"He did it early this morning before heading off to where ever the hell he goes", Lance replied back.

"Well aren't you moody in the mornings", she replied back.

"Says you, I've never heard a girl swear like that", he replied back with a smile.

"Well if ya'll are gonna continue to wake me up in the morning you better get used to it".

"Yes ma'am", Lance replied back good naturally.

They continued to speed through the quite streets of Bayville, Anna began to take notice of her surroundings. The town seemed quant, like many southern towns she had been in. Everything was very still in the early morning and she wondered if it was always like that.

After a few minutes of taking in the scenery, Anna then noticed that they were flying down the road at highly illegal speed, leaning over and checking the speedometer, she noticed the needle hitting the 80 mark.

"Ya in a rush or something"? She asked Lance raising a questioning eyebrow.

"He doesn't want to miss seeing his pretty kitty before class", Pietro said leaning a little to close into her ear for comfort.

Lance quickly reached behind him to shove Pietro back into his seat, "Shut the hell up man"!

Anna raised another questioning brow at him, "whose pretty kitty"?

"His girlfriend"! Pietro annoyingly yelled from the back seat.

"I said shut the hell up"!

"Ah take it she's not your girlfriend yet"?

"Were just friends" Lance shot back irritated.

* * *

The group pulled into the school, getting a parking space all the way in the back of the lot. They piled out of the car and headed towards the building. Anna noticed the crowed of teenagers part in their wake, all trying to get away from the group she was with as fast as possible.

"What's with everyone"? She asked a little confused by the reactions of the other students; it had been a long time since she was thrown into the mix of the public school hierarchy.

"Were sort of like the bad asses here" Pietro said in that ever annoying _I'm trying to impress you _voice.

"Yea total bad asses yo, these guys don't even know", Todd said trying to back up his buddy's statement.

Anna noticed Lance roll his eyes at their companions' behavior, he was obviously going to be the voice reason, and quickly decided to remain on his good side, she would probably need his help keeping these idiots in line during training.

They continued walking through the school, loosing a member of their group one by one with each class room they passed, until it was just Anna and Lance left.

"The Principles office is just up here", he said pointing to the hard wood door down the hall.

At some point during the mad dash through the crowded hall to get to the office she lost Lance, she turned back to see him facing away and staring down the hall at something, so she rushed over to see what was going on.

"Hey what's wrong with you"? She asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

He snapped out of his trance and pulled Anna to his side and whispered conspiratorially in hear ear, "There's Kitty".

Anna looked to the young girl he was pointing, cute and perky, her ponytail bobbing up and down while she talked in exaggerated gestures.

"Just friends huh"? She said giving him a smile.

Lance shot back an irritated look, "Yea just friends".

"Sooo why don't you just ask her out"?

"I can't", he said back, with a hint of longing.

"Why not"?

"Because she's an X-man that's why"! He shot back at her.

Anna gave a shocked look, "She's an X-man? Don't we not like them? Why would you crush on the enemy"?

"I knew her before we came here, she's a mutant too, we just went to different teams".

"How very Shakespeare".

"Whatever, let's go" he said dragging her back in the direction of the principals office.

* * *

It had been a long day, a very long day that she wished she could erase from her memory. Anna loved learning and reading, she was quite good at it and always excelled in her private lessons with her tutors back home. She forgot however, just how excruciatingly boring public school lessons were, and how awful the new kid always got treated.

The only break in here boredom was during her English class. She felt eyes on the back of her neck during the whole class, and every time she turned around she could swear that the kid in the obnoxiously red sun glasses was staring at her, she just couldn't tell for sure. Knowing that X-men were roaming around the school put her on edge and she had half a mind to confront him after class but he disappeared before she got the chance.

Finally getting home, she put the boy's through a rigorous work out regiment, face palming ever few minutes and the lack of physical endurance these boys had.

_This is not my day_

* * *

**Bayville, New York**

**Xavier's Mansion**

**Later that day**

When Scott Summers made it back to the mansion he walked directly to Charles Xavier's office.

_Come in Scott, _he heard before opening the door.

"Hey Professor, wheres Logan, I think I have news on the kidnapped girl".

"Really, already"? Xavier asked with a glint of hope in his voice.

"Yes, I swear I saw her at school today".

"How strange", Xavier pressed the intercom button on his desk, "Logan, my office please".

"On my way" the gruff voice of the Wolverine answered back.

They waited in silence for the few minutes it took Logan to get to the Professors office.

"What's up Chuck"? The Wolverine asked upon entering.

"Scott thinks he has news on the kidnapped girl".

Logan gave a surprised look, "What d'ya got kid"?

"I swear I saw her at school today, in my English class".

"Are you sure, what did she look like"?

"Tall, skinny, green eyes, brown hair, white streak in hair, southern accent when she introduced herself".

"That's a dead ringer for our girl Chuck" Logan said to Xavier.

"It indeed is, how strange, and just the day after her kidnapping.. what is Magneto playing at".

"How did she act, scared, edgy, anything indicating that she was in trouble"? Logan asked turning back to Scott.

"No, I mean no more scared than any new kid".

"Are we sure she was kidnapped then"? Xavier asked pensively.

"No kid would just willingly run off with that mad man, it doesn't make any sense" Logan replied.

"No, but Erik can be quite charming when he's trying to get his way".

"So what do we do Professor"? Scott asked, his in leader coming out to take charge of the new development.

"Get to know her Scott, befriend her and find out her situation".

"I'm on it, first thing tomorrow I'll find her".

"Be careful kid, we don't know where her allegiance is, if Magneto is letting her roam the town she could be working for him". Logan demanded more than asked.

"I will" Scott said before strutting out the room, a man on a mission.

Once the door shut behind him Logan turned back to the Professor.

"What d'ya think"?

"I'm not sure, teenage girls are impressionable, Erik may have already recruited her into his Brotherhood, the only question is, does she know the true implications of what she has gotten herself into".


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Bayville, New York**

**September 2000**

"Are you sure it was her you saw Scott"? Asked Jean Grey.

"I'm positive Jean, just trust me" Scott answered.

The two sat on a bench on the outskirts of Bayville High School, facing the entrance of the school, waiting for their mystery girl to show up. They had been at it for almost an hour with no sign of the tell tale white stripe through the crowed of teenagers all rushing into the building.

"Class is going to start soon" Jean said, taking a glance at her watch.

"You go on without me Jean, I need to make sure it's her".

"Scott there's no point in missing class, you said she was in your English class, and if she's actually here then that's your best chance of talking to her" Jean said, her practicality in place.

Scott sighed and smiled at his beautiful counterpart, "Yea I guess you're right, I'll just have to catch her during class".

"Of course you will", Jean said smiling back at him, "Now lets go".

She stood up and tugged Scott's arm pulling him off the bench and into the school just as the first bell rang.

* * *

"Alright class we will be delving into the works of William Shakespeare this semester" said the ever dull English teacher.

_Blah, _Was Rogue's only thought.

"We will be starting with _Romeo and Juliet_".

_Double blah, _Rogue's second thought.

"Everyone will need to find a partner to write your report with".

_Oh god no, anything but that, _was Rogue's currant thought on the inevitable awkward social situation about to befall her immediate future. She sunk slowly in her chair trying not to be seen.

The class got up all at once and started to mingle around the room looking for prospective partners, except for Rogue. It was only her second day, but she had already felt the judgmental eyes of all her fellow class mates upon her. Hanging out with the wrong crowed, not that she had a choice, and wearing gloves and long sleeved shirts during these dwindling summer days had already cast the impression that she was in fact.. a weirdo.

Tap tap… Rogue felt the annoying poke on her shoulder of someone trying to get her attention and violently flinched away from the touch. She looked up and there was the boy in the funky red sunglasses looking a bit taken back by her reaction but awkwardly smiling at her none the less.

"Hey, so it looks like me and you are the only ones left" he said.

Rogue took a quick glance around the room and saw that everyone else had indeed already paired up,  
"Oh", was her simple reply.

"I'm Scott" he said sitting in the desk next to Rogue.

"Rogue" she answered back, feeling already out of place in this situation.

"Rogue? Cool, is that like a nickname"? He asked, still pleasantly smiling at her.

"Yea somethin like that" she said, trying to sound more friendly but failing miserably.

"Whoa nice accent, where are you from"?

"Umm.. Ah'm from Mississippi"

"Jeez you're a far way from home, what brings you to New York"?

"Family business" She tried to state with confidence but again failing miserably, having not rehearsed what she would tell people whom happened to question what an obvious southerner was doing up north… oops.

Scott lifted his brow at that, but recovered quickly, keeping his nice guy smile in place.

"So have ya ever read Shakespeare before"? Rogue asked.

"No, have you"?

"Not in awhile, but Ah assume ya get the jest of the story right"?

"Yea I do, it's only the most famous story ever written, I think we should be good".

"Let's hope so, there's nothing worse than failing English right".

"Yea true, so you want to meet after school today, get some of this reading out of the way"? Scott asked hopefully.

"Um, ya sure, just gotta check with my rents to make sure it's ok" Rogue said, _seriously did I just say rents, Ah need a back story and quick._

"Cool, well just meet me out front at the benches after school and we can make plans".

"Ok sure".

The bell rang then, everyone shuffling around the class in a hurry before the next round of classes started.

"Well I'll see you later Rogue" Scott said with a smile and a wave.

"Ya, see ya later" She replied lamely, shyly pushing her hair behind her ear.

* * *

"So Jean said zat you found ze kidnapped girl"? Kurt Wagner asked.

"Oh I definitely found her" Scott said sounding a bit smug.

The boys were hanging at the benches outside the school, the day being finished and Scott being everyone's ride home, he had to let his fellow X-Men down one by one that they would be walking home today.

"Zat's cool dude".

"Yea well I'm not so sure about that, I don't think she was kidnapped". Scott said, now sounding a bit suspicious.

"No way, no one would willing go with Magneto".

"Well the Professor said last night that someone who didn't know him could mistake him for a good guy".

"If you say so, zat guy is crazy though".

"Tell me about it, I guess he needed her bad enough to actually trick her into believing he isn't a creep".

"Ja crazy, like brainwashing or something"

"I wouldn't put it past him, oh hey here she comes, get lost Kurt". Scott said shooing his friend away.

"Jeez ok I'm out of here, no need to be pushy dude".

Kurt walked away with a slight sulk, not thrilled at the prospect of having to walk the oh so many treacherous miles back to the institute. Scott just shook his head at him, turning around just in time to greet Rogue.

"Hey what's up"?

"Nothin much, so it's cool for me to stay after school" Rogue replied, taking a seat at the bench.

"Great", Scott said also taking a seat at the bench, "So I guess we should get started, uh how do want to do this"?

"Ah have no idea".

"Well I guess we could just take turns reading, while the other takes notes".

"Ya sure".

* * *

_An hour later_

"That's it Ah'm done, there's only so much Shakespeare one can take in a day" Rogue said exasperatedly.

"Yea me too, man were not even half way done" Scott said sifting through the remainder of the book with a frown.

"Well we have a whole week to read it and write our report, no big deal".

"True, so uhh do you need a ride home"?

"Ah uhh, Ah can just walk if it's gonna be a problem, Ah don't want to be a botha" Rogue said, noticing her sweet southern accent thickening at the prospect of getting a ride home with the first nice guy she met in this town.

Scott smiled back excitedly, "No problem, come on", he said getting up.

Rogue packed up her things quickly and stood up. The two headed towards the parking lot, walking in a companionable silence.

"This one's mine" Scott said pointing to a shiny red convertible. Rogue scrunched her nose up at the flashy sight before her, such extravagance not being her style, but quickly smiled while trying to act impressed.

"Wow, cool car, that wouldn't happen to be a 98' Mustang would it"?

"Yep, got it for my 16th birthday".

"Well that's quite a gift".

"Yea it is a bit much" Scott said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"No it's really cool" Rogue said trying to sound reassuring to his growing awkwardness.

"Yea well, you ready to go"?

"Yep"

They got into the car, and started down the road, Rogue almost laughing at the fact that were doing the speed limit, something she hadn't experienced since being subjected to Lance's jeep.

"So where do you live"?

"Oh uh, ya can just drop me off at the library" Rogue said, not really wanting anyone to see the rat trap she lived in, nor not knowing if she was suppose to let anyone know where she lived.

"Oh ok, you know there's a library at school right"?

"Ah know, Ah just have more eclectic taste then a school library has to offer" Rogue replied, in full sass mode.

"Ok I get it, you're one of those smart girls who likes to read classic French novels or something"?

"Hey Ah'm not that much of a nerd"

"I was kidding, so when did you move here"?

"Oh um just a couple days ago actually".

"Really"?

"Yep"

"Where did you come up with name Rogue"?

"Mah family started callin me that when Ah was real little"

"Everyone at the institute calls me Cyclops".

"Cyclops? Why?" Rogue asked, feeling like they were playing a strange version of twenty questions.

"Well I have an eye condition, that's why I have to wear these glasses all the time, my friend Jean at the institute started calling me that and it just kinda stuck".

"Funny, so what's the institute" she asked, "You don't live in some psycho ward do you", she asked jokingly.

"No nothing like, although it does feel like it sometimes, it's a school for gifted kids" Scott said, now trying to get down to business.

"Gifted like how"?

"Gifted, like special talent gifted I guess is how I would describe it".

"That's a bit vague".

"Yea well, it's kind of a private school; we don't want to attract a lot of attention to it".

Now Rogue's interest was peaked, an institute full of "Gifted" kids, she could almost feel where this was going.

"So what's the name of this institute", she asked.

"Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters".

"That's what Ah thought, let me out of the car please".

"What? Why?"

"Ah know who you people are, Ah was told all about you, please let me out" Rogue said, trying to sound tough, while deep inside feeling unnerved at the prospect of being in a car with one of the infamous X-Men.

"Who told you about us? Magneto? Look whatever he told you is lie, we just want to help you" Scott trying to keep his voice calm and welcoming.

"How do you know about that, what the hell do you people want with me"?

"We just want to help you Rogue, we try to help people like you at the institute".

"Try to help me? You people tried to kill me, Ah saw that Wolverine guy comin at me with murder written all ovah his face"!

"He wasn't trying to attack you Rogue, he was trying to stop Magneto from taking you"!

"That's not what he told me, he told me ya'll were just trying to recruit me so ya could use my powers"!

"He's a madman Rogue, he wants to wipe out human kind and have mutants dominate the world, he more than anyone is trying to use you, he uses everyone Rogue, you can't believe anything he says"!

"Please just let me out"!

"Fine ok, just calm down, I'm really not going to hurt you". Scott said, calming his anger, this girl was seriously in trouble.

He pulled to the side of the road; Rogue was out the door before he even made a complete stop.

"I'm serious Rogue, watch your back around Magneto, and just think about what I've said"

Rogue just looked at him, emerald eyes glazed over with anger and confusion. She merely turned away from him and started walking away.

* * *

Scott burst into the Professors office the minute he got home.

"It was her Professor".

Xavier, not even startled from the unexpected company, calmly looked up from his desk and looked at his favorite pupil.

"You're absolutely sure Scott"?

"Oh yea, she's working for Magneto, he's got her brainwashed that were the bad guys".

"I see, I assume that she now knows you're with X-Men"?

"She does, and she flipped out when she found out, apparently Magneto told her that Wolverine was trying to attack her and that we were trying to kidnap her so we could use her for her powers".

"What are you playing at Erik"? Xavier questioned to himself out loud.

"I don't know Professor but I don't think she wants our help".

"I imagine so, her powers must be great indeed if Magneto has gone through so much trouble to keep this girl, I want you to continue keeping an eye on her Scott".

"Really? Were still going to try and recruit her"?

"Yes, we can't take her by force but we surely can't leave her with the likes of Magneto and his Brotherhood".

"Right, of course". Scott said softly.

"Try to re-establish a friendly relationship with her again, maybe introduce her to some of the other students here, and gain her trust".

"I'll try Professor".

"Thank you Scott, go and brief the others of your findings, I have more work to do here".

"I'm on it". Scott quietly left the room.

* * *

Rogue ran home as fast as her feet could carry her. This was getting ridiculous, gaining her powers only three days ago and now it seemed like the whole mutant population was breathing down her neck. She felt like her world was spiraling fast, first this new Brotherhood wants her and now the X-Men, and her meetings with both sides had left her very confused. While she always knew that the Brotherhood was involved in less than legal activities, the X-men were a group she couldn't quite figure out. Scott seemed very nice, and sounding like he genuinely wanted to help her, and Kitty, although having never actually met her seemed like a typical teenage girl, happy and perky, a vast difference from the ragtag group of hooligans she was living with now,but the rage she saw in the Wolverine frightened her.

Making it back to the house she practically kicked the door open.

"Is anyone here"! She yelled out to an empty hallway.

"Yea, what the hell is wrong with you"? Lance said walking out of the kitchen and giving her an irritated look over her outburst.

"Who the hell are these X-Men guys and what do they do"?

"Why? Were they bothering you"? Lance asked a look of excitement washing over his in hopes of a fight.

"No, Ah just want to know who they are what they do"!

"I don't know man, there like some hippie mutant commune or something, always going on about peace between mutants and humans and wanting to help every poor sap that knocks on their door".

Rogue calmed down a little at her teammates revelations. They definitely weren't what she was expecting considering how vehement Magneto was about these people trying to attack her and use her.

"So why does Magneto hate them so much if they're just trying to help other mutants"?

"Because they're not willing to do what it takes, Magneto is willing to do anything to make sure that our kind is free" Lance said, probably with the most passion he ever had in his life.

"Well Ah'v been here for two days and doesn't seem like we do much of anything here" Rogue said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Well your in luck Rogue, Mags left you a message, we have a mission, he sent you this paper" Lance said handing Rogue a photocopied piece of paper with a long list of names.

"I don't know, he said you would know what to do with it, looks like a list of military bases".

Rogue looked carefully at the paper in her hand, it was in fact a list of military bases, an old list she noticed looking at the print date on the bottom, "Ah don't get it, what the hell am Ah spose to do with this"?

"Hey I don't know the details man, all he said was it was an important mission we needed to start on, someone named Mystique got that information awhile ago."

Rogues eyes flashed with anger and her cheeks tinted with red, "Damn it Mystique, why the hell can't ya leave me alone" she whispered to herself, voice full of loathing.

Lance looked at her strangely, "You know this person"?

"Ya, it's not important, Ah have a pretty good idea know about what this list means".

"Awesome, so what are we doin"? Lance said regaining his excitement.

Rogue gave him an almost wicked smile, "Were breakin in, and gettin mutants out".

* * *

**4 Months Later**

**January 2001**

Rogue had been running these boys through the gamut of training, everything she had ever learned, each fighting skill and physical endurance technique she could think of. Every day after class over the last four months she pushed these boys, and herself, to the limits. They had a big mission a head of them, and as much as the prospect of breaking into military bases didn't appeal to her, the thought of out maneuvering Mystique appealed to her much more. She was training these boys, and preparing herself, for the fight of their lives, to set free her fellow mutants, and she was dead set on her proving a point to her mother. She knew why Mystique sent her that list, this was Raven's pet project, her baby, and something she had been planning for years but failed. Mystique sent her the list as an attempt to continue controlling her life, Mystique is betting on her failing the mission and running back home to mommy.

This very thought fueled Rogue's anger to such a point, that she didn't realize the potential for disaster, so sprung was her pride that she had a hastily made battle plan and soldiers who were far from battle ready. So hell bent was she on proving how much she didn't need her mother, that she lost focus on the extremely hazardous situation that she had gotten herself into.

And Irene saw all of this in her dream, the gigantic trap that her precious Anna was about to fall into.

She sat up in bed, sweat dripping down her brow, and her partner absent from her side. She of course already knew where Mystique was at this moment, training her own team in preparation for Rogue's inevitable down fall, and rescue.

She felt her way over the surface of the night stand, finding the phone she quickly dialed the number of the only person she knew who could save her little girl.

"Xavier's Institute, how can I help you"? A perky voiced answered.

"I need to speak to Charles Xavier immediately".

"

* * *

**I swear this is a ROMY story, it really is, he's just off right now making lots of trouble for himself insuring that there will be lots of future drama ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Don't Own These Guys**

**Summary: Ok enough with the back story, this chapter starts after the events of "Self Possessed"… **

* * *

**May 2002**

**Bayville, New York**

**Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters**

_Fear: They had been caught, she fell right into Mystique's trap, her and her Brotherhood were completely surrounded, guns pointed at them in every direction. They had manage to free only a single mutant, a big son of bitch, he knocked a few of the soldiers out of his way, but when the whole swarm surrounded her and her boys, he didn't even bother to look back or help, just kept making his way out of the base leaving a path of destruction in his wake._

_Resentment: She hated that her mother had to come save her, her old team from back home had come in and saved the day, highly trained and pissed off, de-weaponizing each soldier and completely reverting the hostage situation. They were able to free the other mutants on the wing, and get her and her Brotherhood out of the base and to safety. Mystique chastising her for her recklessness in front of her boys, and then in front of the boss man. She seethed with hatred for that woman ever since then._

_Kinship: Out on a snowy ice bridge, Mystique again, trying to turn her against a poor mutant boy who was trying his best to befriend her. She didn't want her to run off with x-men, she wanted her to stay in the Brotherhood, close to her. The Wolverine coming to save the day, scaring Mystique off, holding out his hand to her, giving her a chance at a new and better life. Being on the X-Jet, Scott waking up, smiling at her, "I know what it's like Rogue", he says weakly, "Not being able to control it, having to hide behind these glasses like you hide behind your gloves"._

_Betrayal: "What do you mean your leaving"! Lance yelled in disbelief, they had formed a bond, and she liked the others boys just fine, and she did feel guilty for leaving them. She had to leave though, she no longer wanted to fight for a cause that was dear to her mothers heart, it was time to find her own way in the world. "I'm sorry Lance", was all she said before walking out on the Brotherhood._

_Trust: They didn't trust her at first, she having once been the enemy. Her new bad girl attitude didn't help much either, she pushed people away naturally now, never wanting to get to close. Gradually they came around, she put in her work in the Danger Room and fought her hardest in the battle field, becoming the Wolverines star pupil in a few short months._

_Roommates: They were night and day, she dark and moody and Kitty bright and perky. Once her trust was earned on the team Kitty tried her hardest to befriend her roommate, and she just pushed her friendly advances away. But over time she couldn't deny any longer that this bright ray of sunshine had actually become the closest thing she had to a best friend. So she let Kitty into her life, each sharing their most personal thoughts and dreams with each other, each watching each others back. Sure they still got on each others nerves, but she couldn't have asked for a better friend._

_Warrior: She was the Wolverine's personal pet project, her past experience and abilities in combat made him see a side of himself in the young woman. He pushed her to her limits, never ever letting her give up on anything, making her the best at what she did, fight, just like him. She was branded "Stripes", and she was his go to girl in every tough battle they were put in. The father figure she had always longed for, and he returned the sentiment three fold._

_Seeing Red: They were tricked, going out to save one of their own, Magneto had set a trap for them. He had found his "best of the best", and set these four highly skilled mutants after her team and the Brotherhood. She took shelter behind the crates, trying to form a plan of what to do next, things having quickly gone to hell, and she ran into him. Red on black eyes stared at her, causing a long forgotten memory to emerge that she couldn't quite place, just the feelings of humiliation, competition… teasing. Those eyes were teasing her now, beckoning her to come closer, closer than she ever dared to with anyone else. His eyes flashed a deep red as if he was trying to place her as well, but that cocky smirk never left his face.. his beautiful face. Then he was backing away, ever smiling, giving her a solute and a slight bow, and she watched him retreat, not able to take her eyes off him. Feeling warmth on her hand, she realized she was holding a card, a card that was glowing purple… not good. It exploded above her, and she saw red, humiliated again._

_Lose: She had lost a great friend, but not in they that most people do, this friend didn't move away, this friend didn't pass away, this friend was a fraud. Risty had been an exchange student she had met, they got along brilliantly, listening to strange music and writing dark poetry, they had great fun together. Then they went to a concert, a night she would never forget. The crowed became to much, her clothes were torn, her poisonous skin exposed. She bumped into Risty. Not Risty, Mystique. Her mother had gotten the best of her again, but she still felt the lose of missing a once true friend._

_Control: She had lost it, every inch of her being was no longer hers, completely taken over by the psyches that resided in her mind. She couldn't remember the events that took place after discovering Mystiques latest betrayal, having absorbed half the patrons at the concert. All she remembered was darkness, then the Wolverine, gently carrying her, the feeling of anti gravity, being lifted through the air in the jet, soft furry blue hands mending her wounds._

_Family: She had a family, people who fought for her, to save herself and come home with him. She had a brother, a long lost brother, maybe not by blood, bot bonded none the less.  
_

_And she slept, never wanting to wake up and remember her cold reality, that she the Rogue, the toughest girl on the team had been so easily over come by the voices in her head._

* * *

"How ya feelin Stripes"? She heard a gruff voice interrupt her self loathing dream.

She opened one eye, exposing the emerald to the harsh light of the Med Bay. She groaned and wished to fall back into oblivion, but knew that he wouldn't let her give up on herself no matter how hard she tried.

"My head feels like it exploded" She said.

"I bet" Logan said, taking a seat beside her hospital bed.

She sat up, feeling her muscles tense at the action, how long had she been out?

"When do Ah get out of here"? She asked irritably.

"Don't know, Hank isn't here, you've been out for a couple of days kid".

"Any possibility Ah can sneak up stairs to take a shower, and grab a book"? She asked, giving her father figure her best puppy eyes.

He looked at her with some sympathy, "You got twenty minutes, then get your ass back down here". Logan stood up then, and started helping Rogue take out her many plugs and needles that were hooked up to the endless machines in the room.

"You're the best Logan". She said, getting to her feet shakily and taking Logan's shoulder for support.

"Anytime Stripes".

* * *

The hot water felt good, cascading down her bruised and wounded body, washing of the dried blood and dirt. Turning off the water, she wrapped a towel around herself, and stood in the steam, letting it seep into her tense muscles.

Walking out of the bathroom, she opened her window, letting the warm pre summer air fill her lungs, and she lingered there, Kitty and most of the inhabitants of the mansion thankfully gone for the night, so she could enjoy this moment of partially nude serenity to herself. She flipped on the stereo, a classic rock favorite blaring through the speakers, remaindering her of a typical southern night.

It had been well over twenty minutes, screw Logan, she needed this time, and screw Hank as well, she would deal with him whenever she dam well felt like going back to the Med Bay. She flung herself on her bed, letting the warm breeze wash over her sensitive skin.

"Damn sneak", she called out softly, the breeze wafting a familiar scent of spice and cigarette, gently playing around her.

She heard a deep chuckle, "Heard da radio blastin, figured ya was finally up". His voice was smooth and it relaxed her, though she would never admit it to him.

She sat up then, legs dangling off the bed, facing her open balcony doors, clutching her towel just a little to tightly around herself.

"Been watchin me again Cajun.? She asked, playfulness in her voice.

"What can I say, missed my sparin partner", he leaned against the balcony, lighting up a cigarette, and giving her a smoldering once over, he of course never seeing so much exposed skin on the closed off teenage girl.

"Oh is that what ah am now"? She asked, with a flirtation in her voice that she reprehended herself for in her head.

Still enemies, they had a strange bond, he watched out for her, keeping the more anti-mutant kids away from her, not that she needed his help, but she appreciated the gesture. He sought her out in battles, her being the only one worthy of fighting in his argent mind. During the more quiet moments he would seek out her company, just like this, slipping on to her balcony, were they would sit together, exchanging thoughts and philosophy, cruel jokes at each others expense and witty banter. Kitty knew of course, but to the rest of the mansion they were mortal enemies on the battle field.

"Ya can be whatever ya want t'be wit dis boy, Gambit ain't picky". He gave her a sly smile, she rolled her eyes.

She walked out to the balcony, and stood next to him in nothing but her towel, decency be dammed, she was to tired to care. "So what brings ya to my neck of the woods tonight Cajun"?

"Jus checkin on ya, heard ya blew away half a city block".

Rogue put her face in her hands, "Oh god, was it that bad"?

"Went down dere afta I heard bout it, was impressive chere, whole dam place was torn apart". He said giving her a smile and another once over, as if he couldn't believe that such a small lithe girl could cause so much damage.

"So embarrassing, Still can't believe Ah lost control like that".

"Happens to da best of us chere". He said, with just a hint of darkness to his voice.

"So have Ah missed anything good since Ah'v been out"? She asked.

"Had to fight ya fearless leader de other day, I tell ya chere he ain't as much to fight as ya are, and he ain't half as pretty". He said.

"Flatterer". She said, giving him a shy smile, she never knew how to handle a compliment.

She blew out a soft sigh, "Ah gotta get back down to the Med Bay before Logan kills me". She said, a hint of loathing in her voice, she hated that place, and she always seemed to be the one who spent the most time there.

"S'to bad, was enjoyin da view.. and da company o course". He said with a slight laugh as Rogue hit his shoulder for his indecent comment.

"Well see ya later Gambit". She said, heading back into her room.

"Hey chere, I meet ya back here tomorrow night eh? We go for a walk or som'ting". He asked, putting out his cigarette and putting the bud in his pocket so as not to leave evidence of his presence.

"Sure, if Hank gives me the all clear, Ah need to get the hell out of here for awhile".

"Den tomorrow night it is chere, until den". He gave her a slight bow, ever the southern gentleman, and leapt over the balcony with all the grace in the world, never making a sound.

* * *

Having gotten dressed and grabbing her favorite book, Rogue made her way down to the Med Lab. Hank was thankfully still gone when she arrived, but Logan was standing there looking at her impatiently.

"What took so long Stripes"?

She rolled her eyes at him, "Sorry, Ah was enjoyin my freedom from this dam dungeon, can ya blame me"? She made her way back to the hospital bed and sat down on the hard mattress.

Logan followed; he started rummaging through the draws, pulling out needles and the like. Rogue held out her arm and they sat in companionable silence as he hooked her back up to the many machines that filled the room.

"Ya know ya scared the hell out of me kid". Logan stated, and here came the talk she so desperately didn't want to have.

"Ah know, scared the hell out of myself". She said quietly.

"You need to work on this, I know ya got some sort of pity party goin on about your powers, but ya can't let it control you like this. Talk to the Professor Rogue, let someone help ya for once".

"Ok Ah will".

"Im not fuckin around Stripes, this cant happen again, I wanna see you workin on it when you get out of here".

"Ok Ah get it, no more psychotic break downs, Ah'll talk to the Professor first thing when Ah get out of here".

Logan just grunted in response, finishing up his nurse work, he walked to the exit and switched off the light.

"G'night kid"

"Night Logan". She called back.

_Well that wasn't too bad all things considered. _She thought, turning on her bed side lamp and opening her book, she was in for a long tonight, why couldn't they at least get comfortable beds in this dam place?

* * *

Hank gave her the all clear the next morning, with only minor injuries she was allowed to spend the day in her room, a week long bed rest, the much needed vacation she was more than entitled to.

The mansions inhabitants had all come to see her through out the day, some more hesitant than others. Her lose of control must have been a fearsome sight indeed if people were tiptoeing around her again.

Kitty had stayed had talked with her for a long while, she being one of the people that Rogue would willingly talk about her break down with. The perky girl listened to every detail, and put in her two cents when called for.

Kurt, her dear brother had stayed for her tale of woe as well. He being more emotional in response to their mother's scheme, and slightly hurt that he was so ignored by his own flesh and blood.

When night fell, Rogue busied herself for her night time excursion with Gambit. Kitty was sitting at her desk finishing up some last minute homework.

"Going out tonight"? She asked Rogue, watching her put on a nice long sleeved shirt and tight leather gloves.

"Yea Ah gotta get out of here for awhile Kit". Rogue replied back, sitting on her bed and putting on her favorite combat boots. "Cover for me"?

Kitty gave her friend a bright smile, "Always".

"You're the best". Rogue replied back, mirroring her friends smile.

"When's he supposed to get here"? Kitty asked turning back to her homework.

"Soonish" Rogue answered, finishing tying her lasses.

This was routine for the two of them. Kitty being in a relationship with Lance took the same advantage with her roommate, letting Rogue cover for her when she snuck out, and although she didn't quite understand Rogue and Gambit's relationship she never questioned it. Ok she did question it, she annoyed the hell out of Rogue asking for every detail, only to be disappointed that they just spent the nights talking.

* * *

_Two hours later_

"Think he's a no show tonight"? Kitty asked, closing her books and tidying up her desk.

"Don't know, it's unlike him". Rogue said, sitting on her bed with open book that she wasn't paying attention to.

"Maybe Magneto sent them out to cause trouble tonight". Kitty said, trying to reassure her friend.

_Tap Tap_

Both girls jumped at the sound, then turned to the window, two red orbs shinning through the dark night. Kitty walked over the balcony windows and easily phased Gambit through them.

Gambit gave a slight shiver, the feeling of phasing almost being like the sensation of falling, when your stomach does a flip and your skin gets goose flesh. He gave kitty an annoyed glare.

"What"? She said shrugging her shoulders, "It's like super late, no need to make more noise than necessary". She stated giving him an irritated look back.

Gambit composed himself and looked directly at Rogue, "We need t'talk chere", he said in a whisper.

Rogue put her book down, and glared at him, "What the hell happened to you tonight"?

"Dat's what we need t'talk bout, come on". He said, motioning to the balcony doors.

"What's going on"? Kitty asked.

"I let Rogue tell ya all bout it chaton eh" He said with a bit of urgency in his voice.

Kitty huffed, and climbed into her bed, "Don't stay out to long, I have DR at seven sharp".

"Yes mommy". Rogue called back sarcastically, opening the balcony doors and stepping out with Gambit.

Once outside, Gambit helped her down the balcony and onto the lawn of the mansion grounds.

They walked in silence, out into the gardens maze, until they reached the bench by the small man made lake.

They sat down on the bench, Gambits leg naturally started to shake up and down with unused energy.

"So what's goin on"? Rogue asked, looking at her hyped up companion.

"Somethin went down t'night". He stated bluntly.

"Well", she answered back, forcing him to go on.

"Don know what happened, one minute I was on my bike headin over here, and da next I was standin outside da Worthington mansion, Magneto flyin above me, he had some poor fool wit robes an crazy face tattoos surrounded by bars". He told his story, looking out over the lake, still obviously startled by his strange journey.

"Mesmero". Rogue stated in a whisper.

"Dat his name"? Gambit asked.

"Yea, a few of my crew had a little run in with him a while back, made them break in to a few places to steal stuff for him, we don't really know why yet".

"Yea well, we headin out to England tomorrow, Magneto was able to get some info off him, I be gone fo couple days chere". He said, looking over to his friend.

"Sharin information with the enemy, ya know better than that Gambit" She said to him playfully.

He gave a sharp look, "Told ya t'call me Remy when is just you an me chere".

She looked away, trying to hide her blushed cheeks, she always got like that when he spoke to her so intimately.

He let out a soft sigh, "I been meanin t'talk to ya bout somethin, but what with ever'ting goin on s'been kinda impossible".

"An what's that" she asked.

"We talk when I get back eh. Just came here t'night t'let ya know whats goin on, some'tin bad is goin down".

"Are you kiddin me Remy! Ya just can't leave a gal hangin like that" She shouted at him indignantly, "Oh Am gonna be all cool and mysterious, go jump off a bridge swamp rat"!

Remy gave a her a look of mock hurt, "Non, I don't think I wanna tell ya no more after that little outburst".

"Fine than! I'll just have to beat it out of you"! Rogue said, giving the Cajun a rough punch to the arm.

"De fuck chere", he cried out, rubbing his arm, but amusement dancing through his features non the less.

She raised her fist at him again, "Tell me or die a slow painful death". She threatened.

"Jamais, je ne donnerai jamais dans vous la femme diabolique"! He yelled, humor in his voice.

Rogue hit him again, "What did I tell ya about yelling at me if Ah can't understand ya"!

Gambit put his hands up in defense, "Vous déchirerez ma langue hors"!

She readied her fist for another blow at Gambit's shoulder, "What was that"?

Hands still raised in the defensive he started to laugh now, a deep rich sound, one that was seldom heard and hard to produce from him, "Dat ya would rip mon tongue out an wear it as a talisman of your conquest".

Rogue dropped her fist and huffed in a sort of victory, "Exactly, so what have we learned here today"?

Gambit's eyes lit up in amusement, "Hmmm, t'piss off da Rogue as much as possible, cuz dat's da only way dis poor boy can get any affection", he said with that irritating grin.

"Ah hate you"! She said, crossing her arms in defense.

"Menteur! Votre coeur fond pour moi"! He stated, quickly standing and dogging Rogue's next blow.

"Get out of here before Ah have to end ya miserable existence"! She said, pointing the darkness beyond their spot in the garden.

"Until next time chere, mon bel ami, vous êtes une rose parmi les épines", he said, grabbing her gloved hand quickly and planting a quick kiss on it.

She blushed, he dropped her hand, and an in instant he was nothing but a shadow in the dark night.

* * *

**The Next Night**

Rogue was feeling a million times better after two days of hiding in her room, but now she felt anxious and needed to release her pent up energy. She was making her way down to the Danger Room, suited up in her tight black leather uniform, and excited about kicking some hologram ass, a skip in her step.

Rounding a corner in the sub level of the mansion she caught the distinct figure of Bobby Drake leaning against the War Room door, obviously eavesdropping. She smiled.

Oh Bobby Drake. The Iceman was one of the few students here who knew the real Rogue. He somehow managed to worm his jokester self into her small inner circle of people she let get close to her. Her quick wit and humorous insults had made the young man see that deep down Rogue was the kind of girl who loved a good joke and good prank, and she proved herself to be a formidable partner indeed.

She crept up behind him, the boy to distracted to realize what was coming for him. When she was right behind him, she roughly pinched his sides. He jumped higher than normally possible and let out an unflattering girly yelp.

He turned and glared at Rogue, rubbing his soar sides, "What the heck dude"?

Rogue in turn placed her hand on her cocked out hip, "Can ask ya the same thing Drake, what the hell are you doin"?

He motioned for her to come closer, a conspiratorial look on his face. When she was in whispering distance he leaned in, "Angel's here, apparently that dude Gambit stole an ancient artifact or something, and Magneto and that Mesmero guy were out there waiting for him, Beast and the Professor are sure it has something to do with happened to Jean, Kitty, and all them".

"No kidding", Rogue said, already knowing half the story, "So what are they gonna do about it"? She asked nodding her head in the direction of the door.

"Their gonna head out to London I think, that's were Magneto is heading, something about the other half of Angel's artifact being in a museum there".

Just then the door to the War Room opened and out came the Professor, Beast, Angel, Cyclops and Jean. Rogue and Bobby tried their best to look innocent, but failed miserably.

Cyclops crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at them, "What are you two doing"?

Rogue and Bobby both smiled, and Bobby gave her nudge to answer for them, her being a senior X-man and all, "Well we just heard bout what happened to Warren and we were wonderin if ya'll needed any help"? She asked in her sweetest southern voice.

"My dear Rogue, surely you do not think you are well enough to be joining us on any mission" Beast stated worriedly.

"Ah'm fine Hank, Ah could use a good mission, been pent up for near on a week, sides ya'll could use my help". She said anger rising in her voice, the nerve they had questioning her.

"And you"? Scott asked Bobby.

"Oh come on man, I'm totally ready for a mission". Bobby protested.

"I don't think so, and Rogue and I don't think your ready to head back out to the field yet, you still have a few more days of bed rest left". Scott said matter of fact.

"Are you kidding"? She turned to the Professor hoping he would support her, "You could use my help on this, Ah can handle it Ah swear" She pleaded her case.

"I'm sorry Rogue, but Cyclops is right, you need to finish your mandatory bed rest, your health comes before anything else". He told her simply, "Now if you will excuse us, we must be heading out".

With that, the group headed in the direction of the jet hanger.

"Oh hell no", Rogue said angrily.

"Lame, oh well, you wanna go play playstation or something"? He asked shrugging his shoulders.

"What? No, were goin with". She stated determinedly.

"Uuuuuh going with who, where, what"?

"Come on". Rogue said, grabbing Bobby's hand and pulling him in the diraection of the hanger.

* * *

"This is so badass". Bobby whispered from their hiding spot, both of them cramped in a large cupboard in the back of the jet.

"If you so say so, an stop kickin me"! Rogue whispered her yell towards Bobby whose booted foot kept kicking her knee.

"I can't help it, I'm to super stoked that we totally snuck on the jet, soooo cool".

"Would you shut up, ya gonna get us caught". Rogue shifted uncomfortably, feeling something scratch her back with a loud crinkling sound. "What the hell", she proclaimed pulling out the offending objects.

"Sweet! Chips". Bobby said, snatching the bag.

* * *

**2 Hours Later**

The felt the jet land from their cramped position, and smiled at each other as two co-conspirators who had totally got a way with it.

But before Rogue could open the door to their hiding spot, it opened it self, revealing a smiling blue Beast, "Found them"! He called out.

Rogue and Bobby just smiled sheepishly at the good doctor.

* * *

"I can't believe you two would pull this, it was completely irresponsible". Cyclops chided them in the front of the jet.

"And highly dangerous, the jet is equipped with seat belts for a reason". Beast lectured.

The two caught mutants just rolled their eyes, but straightened up when the Professor made his way over to them.

"I'm very disappointed in you both, and although I do admire your wanting to help on this important mission, you still disobeyed direct orders". He stated calmly, "But since you two are here, you may as well join us, we could use the help, Magneto brought his Acolytes".

Rogue and Bobby both perked up, giving each other a high five. Scott rolled his eyes and the Professor gave them a smile.

"However, you both are grounded for the next week", the Professor said, their faces fell in disappointment, "And extra Danger Room sessions with Logan".

"Man I knew I should have just stayed home". Bobby huffed. Rogue elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to dramatically topple over.

"Now, let's go, we need to figure out what Magnus is up to". And with that they exited the jet and made their way to museum.

"Oh yea, definitely the cool team". Bobby said icing up, causing a groan from his fellow team mates.

'

**Sorry for stopping here, but I need to brush up on my action scene writing for the next part.**


End file.
